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Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore
Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2015.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1867613569043922945 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Brown, Molly |
| author_browse | Brown, Molly |
| author_facet | Brown, Molly |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2015. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/110011 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:38:13.749Z |
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| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/110011 Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore Brown, Molly fcovarr@yahoo.co.uk Covarr, Fiona Jean Ursula K. Le Guin Annals of the Western Shore Gifts Voices Powers Young Adult literature Fantasy Enslavement Rebellion Roberta Seelinger Trites Michel Foucault Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2015. play in identity formation. Foucault believes that knowledge is power, and it is through expanding one’s knowledge of the world and the self that one can exert more power in the world. This is something the adolescent protagonists in the Western Shore must discover for themselves. Another idea I explore is the potential of the story as a means to selfemancipation. Here I look at theories based on narrative therapy, bibliotherapy, and poetry therapy. The stories and texts the protagonists are exposed to in the novels help them to restory their own lives, and recreate their identities. I also look briefly at issues of gender in slavery, examining Le Guin’s anti-essentialist feminist theory in relation to her Taoist beliefs of balance, and show how slavery differs for each of the genders. Gender identity determines the roles the protagonists are expected to fulfil by the authority figures in their lives. The idea of rebellion and its relevance to evolutionary psychology is examined in relation to observations made by the young adult/fantasy critic Allison Waller. I show that I agree with Waller’s (2009:190) theory that adolescent rebellion is a necessary part of evolution in humankind and that it enabled us to take risks and to become successful hunters and gatherers. Similarly, this dissertation argues that if fictional protagonists do not rebel and rise up against authority figures, they do not develop a more mature view of the world. This dissertation also explores how fantasy differs from other kinds of literature and considers the relevance of fantasy literature as a genre for adolescents. Although the Western Shore is set in a fantasy world, the issues the protagonists have to deal with, such as challenging parental, educative, state, and even colonial authority, are real-world issues. As Le Guin (1979:39-45) suggests, fantasy, although seen as escapist, examines the real world and real issues, making it a vital genre for adolescents to read. English MA (English) 2026-05-15T17:26:04Z 2026-05-15T17:26:04Z 15/07/06 2015 Dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/2263/110011 en application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Ursula K. Le Guin Annals of the Western Shore Gifts Voices Powers Young Adult literature Fantasy Enslavement Rebellion Roberta Seelinger Trites Michel Foucault Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore |
| title | Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore |
| title_full | Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore |
| title_fullStr | Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore |
| title_full_unstemmed | Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore |
| title_short | Freedom, rebellion and adolescent identity in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore |
| title_sort | freedom rebellion and adolescent identity in ursula k le guin s annals of the western shore |
| topic | Ursula K. Le Guin Annals of the Western Shore Gifts Voices Powers Young Adult literature Fantasy Enslavement Rebellion Roberta Seelinger Trites Michel Foucault |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/110011 |