The differences between YA and adult literature?g

[DarkRaven]

What do you think are the main differences between young adult and adult literature? It seems these days that the difference is growing thinner and thinner. For example, the Lord of the Rings was first written for an adult audience, but now it's read by teenagers, and even children?

Discuss.

[Modest Proposal]

Difference between young adult and adult is...

young.

In all actuality it is a question with many answers. In some way children/YA lit includes themes previously deemed unacceptable for children but in a different shift, adult literature has been in some ways dumbed down as far as complexity of language/ideas and textual references. Neither of these are hard and fast rules but reflect some of the cultural shifts in literacy and values.

I believe, however, that Lord of the Rings was originally written NOT for a primarily adult audience but a specifically youthful audience. If anything, the literature of today prepares LESS of the youth--in America at least--from actually being able to access even this relatively straight-forward book.

I think that it is important, though, to keep in mind that the tendency to romanticize things of the past is very prevalent. All generations seem to think that the latest generation is less hard-working and disciplined. While I don't agree with this tendency as a general rule, I think that the calculable effects of modern technology has diminished certain aspects of cultural literacy. Of course, the overall number of people capable of reading and with access to books is at an all time high... so take it all in stride, I guess.

[dfloyd]

remained with me for my adult life, and I reread many of them time and time again. But there are no authors of today who can produce such tales of adventure. Rafael Sabatini, Robert Louis Stevenson, James Fenimore Cooper, Alexander Dumas, Mark Twain .... where are the writers to replace these icons of my youth?

[keilj]

remained with me for my adult life, and I reread many of them time and time again. But there are no authors of today who can produce such tales of adventure. Rafael Sabatini, Robert Louis Stevenson, James Fenimore Cooper, Alexander Dumas, Mark Twain .... where are the writers to replace these icons of my youth?

uh.. hello - JK Rowling ;)

[JCamilo]

LoTR started to written for children just like Hobbit was, since they were originated from Tolkien stories to his sons, anyways those divisions do not exist, did not at his time, so discussing if he wrote for a guy with 24 years or those with 25 is pointless.

Discuss: Why bothering with a division created by market organization?

[PeterL]

It's a matter of what a publisher wants to call something. There is a distinct difference between children's literature and adult literature, but the dividing line disappears at some point.

[Uroboros1989]

i think that it's hard to find literaturature for a particular target group. For example, "A little Prince", is reputedly regarded as the book for children but a childish perception can't notice a metaphorical meaning of the book. They read it for fun ( or as a compulsory item in setbooks hahahah). But i think that under no circumstantion should we divide literature and categorize books! of course a pornographic literature is a basis for discussion ;)