Growth In The Adventure

Initiation theme is an unavoidable theme in young adult literature. Writers makeuse of different techniques of art to show the growing process of young adults. Theyexpect to get a good response from young adults and provide some thoughts andinspiration for their growth. Among these writers, the American novelist, JeanCraighead George, has made her great contribution in this field. She cares about thegrowth of young adults and has created about 50 works for young adults in the courseof her writing. Some of them have received important awards. The thesis will focuson one of her important works entitled Julie of the Wolves. The novel was selected asthe prestigious Newbery Honor Book in 1973. It was also a National Book AwardFinalist. Only a few years after its publication, Julie of the Wolves was selected by theChildren's Literature Association as one of ten best American children's books in thepast 200 years. The novel is considered as a modern classic for young adults and hasbeen popular among young readers.The novel tells a story about a 13-year-old Eskimo girl, who loses her way in thewilderness. Her Eskimo name is Miyax while her English name is Julie. Unsatisfiedwith her marriage life, she decides to escape, seeking for a new kind of life. Whencrossing the wilderness, she gets lost and experiences many ordeals. She wasgradually accepted by a group of wolves and becomes a member of them. Shesurvives on the tundra with the help of her wolves and the Eskimo skills taught by herfather. Through these experiences, she gets a deeper understanding on nature, cultureand self-identity and goes further on the way to maturity.Julie of the Wolves tends to probe into the growing problem in the process of theadventure. The thesis attempts to analyze its initiation theme from nature, culture andself-identity. Accordingly, the thesis will be divided into five chapters: chapter onemainly gives a brief introduction about the author's family background and life career,the novel's literary position and some comments on the novel;it also gives a briefintroduction about initiation theme. Chapter two intends to explore changes of theprotagonist's recognition on nature before and after the adventure and the role ofnature in the growth of the protagonist. Chapter three focuses on development ofprotagonist's recognition on Eskimo culture and modern civilization before and afterthe adventure and shows how she gets mature in her understanding of culture. Chapterfour indicates that the protagonist becomes mature after achieving recognition ofself-identity. Chapter five summarizes the characteristics as an initiation novel and itsinfluence on the growth of young adults.The author of the thesis focuses on the growing process of the protagonist in theadventure reflected in the novel. Through analysis of the novel in terms of initiationtheme, the author of the thesis expects to attract people's attention to the growth ofyoung adults, especially the growth of minority young adults. We should take theresponsibility to give more spiritual support and guidance for the growth of youngadults and help them successfully accomplish their transition from childhood toadulthood.