“In every way that counted, I was dead”, this short but,
profound sentence may introduce readers to a world where it will be easy to be
or feel identified with the main unknown character.
Gaiman,
the author of Bitter Grounds,
describes in what seems to be four different diary entries, the story of an
unknown man who is heading south and west leaving aside all what he knows and cherishes.
The main character is portrayed by the author as somebody who is lost inside
himself and who does not want to wake up anymore feeling “resigned to existence”. On his way to nowhere he meets different
characters which in time will play an important role on his life. Is he dreaming?
Is he dead? Or is he just lost in between two worlds?
Bitter grounds have characteristics which
may be linked to Young Adults Literature (YAL). Such features include the
length of the text, which is short indeed, since the story has no more than 3
pages. The type of language used, which is not complex. And the events on the
plot are related to teenagers. Equally important are the themes and situational
archetypes seen in the story, for instance, the endless questions about “Who somebody is?” and “Where does that somebody belong?” Last
but not least, the search for self is an important topic in YAL. Assuming that
all these features found in YAL are present in Bitter grounds, this paper aim is to prove that the former can be
considered an example of Young Adults Literature.
Turning
now to the questions of the main character seen as a teenager, which may be put
up to discussion since there is no evidence that the unknown character is in
fact a teenager, or even an adult; still there is the possibility to analyze
the way he expresses as similar to the way in which a teenager may express his
or her ideas. In relation to that, readers may
think that he is a teenager since his mood is kind of dispirited, sad or even
blue. These may be well portrayed with the following extract,
“Inside somewhere I was screaming and weeping and
howling like an animal, but that was another person deep inside, another person
who had no access to the face and lips and mouth and head…”
It’s
of common knowledge that teenagers are passing through a mourning of the lost
body and in a way they may feel a little bit down or depressed or even look
grim. Also it may happen to them that they do not recognize themselves anymore
like the character that says that the person inside him is not the same as the
one that is in the outside. The character seems like an adult having some teenager
issues.
Considering
the idea of this character feeling depressed, a connection with questions about
who someone is and where does that someone belong, may be established as
regards the topics that are commonly found in YAL. As we read the story, we get
to know that the character does not recognize him and that he is heading south
and west and that he has thrown his cell phone perhaps desiring that nobody
contacts him. We even do not know his name. Here the search for self is present
but twisted because he is not searching for himself, he’s leaving himself. Similar
is this to what some adolescent experience when while they change their
physical appearance and start mourning the lost body because that is a signal
of their childhood now finished.
In
Bitter Grounds, the impossibility to
clearly identify whether the main character is a teenager or an adult, does not
affect its connection to YAL since the character’s feelings, thoughts and
experiences might be similar to the ones an adolescent may feel, think or
experience. A long with these, the book’s length, of no more than three pages,
also applies to YAL characteristics as well as the simple vocabulary used.
Reasons which prove Bitter Grounds should
be considered as an example of YAL.
