Identifying an Artist Dessi M. Gravely College

The coming-of-age story holds a significant place in the literary canon. In these works, characters explore the world around them, seeking answers to questions about life and trying to find their places in society. In German, this type of story is classified as a Bildungsroman. Oxford English Living Dictionary defines this word, “A novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education” (“Bildungsroman”). A direct translation of the German word is helpful in understanding this genre. This word is a combination of the German words for “education” and “novel.” From this, it can be concluded that works in the Bildungsroman genre are novels of education. This understanding of the Bildungsroman genre is useful in recognizing how the characters in these works seek and gain education from their experiences and how they use this gained information to achieve some form of growth; further, it explains how these characters educate themselves in the ways of the world in order to form their own identities. A conventional theme of the Bildungsroman genre is self-definition. Often, these stories detail the ways in which people define themselves based on their experiences with the world around them. The characters must...