Darkness Too Visible

Megan Cox Gurdon’s article Darkness Too Visible, published in the Wall Street Journal, discusses what the author considers to be the overly gruesome and inappropriate nature of young adult literature. After introducing the topic, Gurdon writes about how Y.A. lit affects teenagers emotions and spreads the likelihood “self-destructive adolescent behaviors.” She proves her point by mentioning many Y.A. books, such as Rage and Scars and how they may negatively impact teenagers.

There are many craft moves used throughout the article. It starts out with a small moment to make the reader relate to the cause and simultaneously tries to put an opinion in their head – Y.A. lit is too dark. The author addresses the counterclaim, that Y.A. lit “validate[s] the teen experience.” She immediately makes the counterclaim seem foolish by using a situation that is obviously unreasonable. Gurdon also uses many big words such as “acquiesce” and uses a sophisticated and domineering tone to make the reader agree with her point.

I disagree with the author’s claim that Y.A. lit is too harsh for teenagers. Gurdon argues that Y.A. lit books with violent and dark issues make these topics more plausible. In my opinion, Y.A. lit reflects our teenage generation, not the other way around. Changing the content of Y.A. lit wouldn’t change the behavior of teenagers. You would have to change them.