Characteristics Of Coming-Of-Age Stories

Introduction
I have chosen to go in depth with coming-of-age stories because youth is a phase that we all are going to go through at one point or another. Even though everyone has different experience, I find it interesting to look at the factors that contribute to the growth of an individual. This is why I want to research the characteristics that define both the genre of coming-of-age and its subgenres such as the ‘Bildungsroman’ and the ‘Künstlerroman’. By doing so I will be able to use my knowledge to analyse Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and Den Kroniske Uskyld by Klaus Rifbjerg and observe the factors that contribute to the development of the protagonists. I can then look at the differences and similarities and compare them to each other. Considering that there are various subgenres, I will discuss to what degree the novels can be considered as coming-of-age stories.

In order for the protagonist to experience this, he or she has to go through a phase that becomes a metaphor for their development. An example of a phase could be a journey where the protagonist goes from one point to another or an experience that makes the protagonist question their ideals and values. However the destination or the event is not the focus of the novel instead, the development of the protagonist is the most important aspect of the story.
Despite this there are numerous factors that can contribute to the growth of the protagonist and there are different end results as well, which makes it difficult to precisely characterize what makes a novel into a coming-of-age story. In order to gain a better understanding of the topic, one has to look at the subgenres of coming-of-age stories such as the ‘Bildungsroman’ and the