| You must have come across this word a | | | | 4. The values of the social order become |
| "bildungsroman" somewhere while reading books | | | | noticeable in the protagonist, who is finally |
| or literature. It is a German term which denotes a | | | | incorporated into the society. |
| "novel of education". The term was first coined | | | | 5. The novel normally ends with the protagonist's |
| by Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern. Slowly and | | | | self-discovery, his assessment of himself and his |
| gradually, it came on the surface during the | | | | place in the society. In other words, it's all about |
| German Enlightenment. Now, these days, the | | | | the protagonist's self-discovery and how he is |
| authors present the moral, psychological, and | | | | rooted into the society. |
| social shaping of the personality of a young main | | | | In short, bildungsroman is a novel about the early |
| character. | | | | years of a person's life, or about a person's |
| There are some of the features you'll learn in this | | | | psychological or moral growth. The well-known |
| article that will help you understand what the term | | | | novels of this type are David Copperfield |
| bildungsroman stands for in literature. | | | | (1849-1850), and in which Charles Dickens depicts |
| Some Features: | | | | David's life from childhood misery to worldly |
| There are certain features which are always | | | | success, and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young |
| present in a bildungsroman: | | | | Man (1916), in which James Joyce sketches |
| 1. The protagonist or character undergoes a | | | | Stephen Dedalus's growht as a man and an artist. |
| development phase from child to adult. | | | | Similarly, American author Paule Marshall in Brown |
| 2. The protagonist or character has a particular | | | | Girl, Brownstones (1959) describes Selina Boyce |
| reason that urges him or her to embark upon a | | | | growing up in Brooklyn, New York as the child of |
| journey. At an early stage, there has to be a loss | | | | migrants from Barbados. Cormac McCarthy's All |
| or some discontent with the protagonist that | | | | the Pretty Horses (1992) is a tale of 16-year-old |
| compels him or her away from the home. | | | | John Grady Cole and two companions who travel |
| 3. The process of the character's maturation is | | | | from Texas to Mexico where their adventures |
| normally long, gradual and arduous. This | | | | turn into rites of passage to manhood. |
| development process involves frequent clashes | | | | So, you can keep these features in your mind |
| between the protagonist's wants and desires | | | | while reading literary work or novel which is called |
| imposed by a rigid social order. | | | | a bildungsroman or a novel of education. |