Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Publishing Group, 2003.
The novel tells the story of several boys nicknamed Piggy, Ralph, Roger, Jack, and Simon, who have to live on a jungle island after their plane crashes into it. The boys split into two teams and start a conflict that quickly escalates into a war, with multiple lives being taken in the process. One of the teams uses a severed pig head on a stick as an offering to gods; attracting multiple flies, the head becomes a symbol of chaos and evil. Finally, the boys are rescued by the British Navy soldier.
The novel addresses several popular teenage cultural tropes, one of which is social standing and hierarchy, which is the most prominent trope in the novel. Instead of collaborating and focusing on survival, the leading characters immediately form a team with a distinctive conflict within it, where two boys compete for the position of leader. Furthermore, the resulting war between the two tribes, though being an obvious allegory for WWII, can also be seen as the reiteration of the trope of teenage aggression.
Hinton, Susan Eloise. The Outsiders. Viking Books for Young Readers, 2006.
The Outsiders portrays a short moment in time of a life of a teenage boy, therefore, striving to capture the essence of boyhood in its narrative. Ponyboy Curtis, the protagonist, envisions the world as a place where the so-called socs, or social people, supposedly bask in others’ admiration and attention, whereas greasers, or antisocial people, represent outsiders. When Ponyboy’s friend kills a soc, Ponyboy’s life changes drastically.
The novel introduces and reflects upon several key cultural tropes associated with teenagers and the difficulties of teenage life. Specifically, the trope of a troubled teen, as well as that of one of a teenage outsider, is rendered in the novel thoroughly. Specifically, Hinton portrays the challenges of developing social skills and gaining a social status that teenagers typically regard as valuable yet struggle to obtain. Finally, the novel examines the concept of coming of age and the associated change in the value system as one of the core tropes linked to teenage years, concluding that change is a painful yet inevitable process of becoming an independent, self-sufficient adult.
Jeffries, Charlie. Teenage Dreams: Girlhood Sexualities in the U.S. Culture Wars. Rutgers University Press.
The book does not center on a specific protagonist but, rather, addresses the current situation regarding the lives of girls and young women in the U.S. by examining the history of the subject matter. The book depicts the concept of girlhood as highly politicized and argues that the specified perspective has defined the struggles that girls and young women have had to face ever since in regard to fighting for their safety and autonomy.
The book does not seem to capture any tropes related to teenage culture, mainly because it seeks to honestly and truthfully illustrate the issue that it addresses. However, arguably, one could claim that the narrative renders the idea of teenage rebellion and the struggle for justice that is typically associated with teenage culture. Specifically, the book accurately renders the plight of teenage girls to be seen as human and recognized for their merits as opposed to the ostensible value that patriarchy imposes on them. As a result, “Teenage Dreams” provides an honest portrayal of one of the most complicated issues.
Stranger Things. Created by Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, Netflix, 2016 – present.
Starting with the disappearance of a young boy named Will Byers, the series tells the story of a group of teenagers fighting the evil that leaks through the portal to another dimension opened in the government laboratory. As Will’s friends try to investigate the case themselves, they come across Eleven, a girl who has escaped the laboratory. Together, they fight monsters that the portal to another dimension leaks into the ordinary world.
Though placed in a fictional universe, Stranger Things manages to encapsulate the core aspects of teenage culture and the associated tropes impeccably. For instance, the focus on teenage angst as one of the essential tropes associated with the subject matter is quite representative of the genre. Furthermore, the series depicts the trope of love triangles and the relevant staples of teenage romance in a rather detailed manner, allowing the audience to immerse into the world that Stranger Things creates. As a result, the series fully embraces the concept of teenage culture, with likable and believable characters supporting the ideas that the show seeks to convey. Overall, Stranger Things integrates teenage tropes in its setting effectively.