Date of Award
Spring 5-2013
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
English
Department
English
Major Professor
Dr. Dan Doll
Second Advisor
Dr Anne Boyd Rioux
Third Advisor
Dr. Patricia Austin
Abstract
In the early 1980s, a particular kind of “tween” (children aged 10-14) ghost story emerged. Through examining multiple examples of tween ghost stories (such as Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn, Stonewords by Pam Conrad, and Time Windows by Kathryn Reiss), this paper illustrates the ways in which these stories are remarkably consistent in nature, and then investigates this sub-genre’s specific and consistent articulation of the struggle of moving away from childhood and into the teenage years. By using a ghost to create a situation so off balance (a ghost who is stuck, a protagonist who is in flux), the tween ghost story is uniquely and cleverly designed to help the protagonist navigate through the scary situation of growing up.
Recommended Citation
Rostedt, Erica, "The Tween Ghost Story: Articulating the Tween Experience" (2013). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1665.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1665
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.