Throughout the
years I have read many adventure novels.
These include a couple of books out of Brian Jacques’ Redwall series,
and all of the Percy Jackson series. The
purpose of writing adventure novels is to provide entertainment to the readers,
as well as money for the authors. All of
the adventure novels that I read in my youth were geared towards the younger
population of boys. Due to this, the
books were often easy to read and used common words found in everyday speaking. I could often go through a book in less than
a week thanks to this.
Adventure
books contain many conventions. For
example, the books almost always contain chapters. This provides concrete timeframes for events
to start and occur, and makes it so the author can keep the story interesting
by not focusing too much on one subject or event in the book. This is especially important considering the
fact that the readers are young kids who often have short attention spans. The authors also often write very straightforward. They do not spend much time describing
scenery or using advanced writing techniques because it can often bore or
confuse the young audience. These books also
contain lots of dialogue. This dialogue
is what drives the story forward. It is
also an easy way for young readers to know what events are occurring and how
characters feel about each other.
The
main character of each book is often a misfit in some sort of way. One reason for this is that it separates the
main character from all of the minor characters because it makes them more
interesting. It also helps young readers
relate and like the main character because almost all young people feel like
they don’t belong at some point. Often, it is the same peculiarity that makes
them an outsider, which helps them succeed on their adventure. An example of this is that Percy Jackson from
the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is the son of Poseidon. This makes it so he is segregated from all of
the other kids because none of them share the same father with him. But, it is the fact that his father is the
god of the sea that helps him succeed on his quests because it makes him
stronger than the majority of the other kids.
The
main character faces many hardships and setbacks, but overcomes all of them and
eventually succeeds in his quest. The
main character also often has friends, who are very loyal and help him get out
of dangerous situations. There is also a
lot of violence in adventure novels.
This is because most young male readers are more interested in fighting than
any other dramatic events. Finally, the
main character often has a love interest.
This provides volume to the character and makes them more
interesting. It shows their softer side
and often gives them something to fight for.
All
of these conventions put together help create an adventure novel. These adventure novels don’t have to contain
every convention, but at the very least there must be some sort of “adventure,”
meaning that the main character must be faced with a task, and several
drawbacks to completing the task.
As a fan of reading, adventure novels are one of my favorite genres. I agree completely of how easy it is to be absorbed in the plotline and it makes it hard for me to put down the book! The words flow smoothly off of the pages, making it easy to understand what is happening and it feels as though I am witnessing the action right in front of me. There is just something about this genre that makes you feel like you can relate with the main protagonist, regardless of how far from reality the plot may be. It engages the reader to empathize with the characters and I think that is what makes these types of books very popular. A touch of realism with a touch of imagination is probably the reason why adventure stories entices us to read more! I, personally, have enjoyed reading Peter and the Starcatchers series, Bloody Jack and Maximum Ride. I would definitely recommend these series to fellow adventure-seeking readers out there!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the fact that adventure or “action” novels are often advertised towards boys. The main character for example is often a boy, which makes it nice for the reader to relate to. I have to argue however that sometimes the authors do spend some time elaborating on the scenery simply to create a vivid picture what is going on. For example if it is a gory scene they might take some time to point out all the details. It is interesting how fast paced these adventure novels are, and you made a good point that it’s probably because the readers are young and the author wants to keep their attention at all times. I also like that you added that the main character is often a bit of a misfit. I never really noticed this but since you pointed it out it is common. I’m not sure if anyone has read Maximum Ride by James Patterson but I’m sure it would fall under this genre, and main characters are all misfit (being 98% human and 2% avian). These novels do appeal to younger audiences, I remember in middle school going through several of these “adventure” series merely because they were fun fast reads.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned that many adventure novels were often easy to read and used common words. This goes to show that a lot of the rhetoric and diction used by authors is purposely catered toward the audience. Knowing your audience is an extremely important aspect in writing and communication. That is also why, which you mentioned, authors do not spend much effort on descriptive aspects or advanced writing techniques. I found it very interesting when you stated that the main character of each book is often a misfit because this is a particular convention that I never really paid attention to. I also agree with your statement that the main character faces many hardships and setbacks because this is what helps build the character and provide context for their personality. This is a convention that is commonly seen in many novels and fictional stories because the protagonists often face many obstacles throughout the story lines. All your ideas are very well thought out and presented and I feel like you did a good job in identifying the conventions that make an adventure novel unique.
ReplyDelete