Surviving adolescence (by Camila)

 What is the line that separates childhood from adulthood? This is, undoubtedly, a complicated question for which there are multiple answers, but neither of them are enough to explain the passage from one stage to the other. This is exactly what Rachel, the main character from ‘’Survival’’, wonders about. This short story, written by award-winning author K.L Going, is about a high-school girl who is about to give a graduation speech, but before doing it, starts recalling some important events from her life which will lead her to the discovery of what being a grown up is. Narrated from the perspective of a young adult, and considering topics related to them, ‘’Survival’’ is definitely Young Adult Literature (YAL).

One of the most salient themes in the story is the rite of passage that graduation represents. According to Donelson and Nilsen (1989), the rite of passage is a situational archetype in YAL, and ‘’Survival’’ is a clear example of it. Throughout the story, graduation is approached as the last step to being a child, and it is thought to be the door to adult life. This is how one of the characters, Kenneth, thinks about it: “Graduation is a ritual marking the fact that we’ve survived high school and can now move on to our real lives. Once we graduate we’re adults—in control of our own destinies.”

This is not enough, however, to mark the passage between two stages of life, and Rachel clearly reflects on this: ‘’I guess I just have my doubts that one event can change things so significantly. It’s not like we cross some line and nothing is ever the same. If that’s true, when exactly does everything change? Now, since classes are done and we’re just waiting to get our diplomas? Once we shake hands onstage with the principal? The next day when we wake up and lounge around the house for summer vacation?’’ While Kenneth considers graduation as a rite of passage, Rachel doubts about this event being a line separating different moments of life. These two postures depict clearly how there is no one possible answer to when and how adulthood starts.

Since ‘’Survival’’ is told by a young adult, readers might be able to comprehend what the main character feels, thinks and does. In order to classify a piece of writing as YAL, Small (1992) considers it essential to have a teenager as the main character, so that young adult stories reflect their inner worlds and how they behave. In a few pages, the narration provides Rachel’s perspective, for instance, on how she feels inferior to her sister, her love for Kenneth, and her understanding of what life is about: ‘’Survival. Now I understood. This wasn’t what we learned from high school; it was what we learned from life. It was what we would always have to learn again and again. No invisible line would be crossed, no diploma handed out, no age limit surpassed that would ever change this fact.’’ Undoubtedly, this extract is a clear example of the young adult character’s feelings and reflections. At this point, readers can observe how this teenager shows understanding and maturity, and gives a closure to what she has been asking herself throughout the story: what being a grown up is.

From a situational archetype as a rite of passage to the perspective of a teenager, ‘’Survival’’ is definitely Young Adult Literature. A clear example of what young adults might read.