Narrative Empathy and an Analysis of Three Contemporary Young Adult Mental Health Novels

Abstract

The goal of this project is to propose a solution to the mental health stigma crisis. Through my thesis, I explore the theory of narrative empathy, character identification, and two character-identification techniques: suspense and descriptive language. I ultimately argue that one way potentially to reduce mental health stigma is through the reading of literature that features a protagonist with a mental illness. The three novels I utilize to support my argument through literary analysis include Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman, The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork, and Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall. I selected these three novels because each collectively paints individuals with various mental disorders in an authentic and empathetic light; the authors’ accurate representations stem from their personal connections to the mental disorders that they represent within the pages of their respective novels. I argue that these novels can cultivate empathy in readers toward individuals with a mental illness, which will help reduce the mental health stigma pandemic.