Annotated Bibliography – In What Ways Does Literature View and Represent Mental Health and Mental Illness?

Annotated Bibliography – In What Ways Does Literature View and Represent Mental Health and Mental Illness?

Aberle, A. (2021). Mental illness representation in young adult literature. Graduate Research Papers. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/1880

This qualitative content analysis of Aberle focuses on the treatment of mental illness in the characters of award-winning young adult literature and attempts to inform teacher librarians and educators on how to recommend and use these texts to promote acceptance of mental illness among children and young adults. The study seeks to answer guiding research questions, such as how mentally ill characters relate to peers and adults in these stories. Aberle examines ten novels published from 2013 to 2020 and posits three primary themes: 1) supportive communities contribute immensely to the well-being of the characters with mental illness, 2) characters are presented as multifaceted, not simplistic and one-dimensional, and 3) individuals coping with mental health problems are depicted as living full and enriched lives. Aberle comments on prevailing stereotypes of mental illness, including “the tragic victim” and “the resilient hero,” which either malign or validate mental health issues. The author argues that although some narratives construct portrayals that evoke empathy, others risk reinforcing stereotypes. This source is especially useful for my research question because it discusses the harm and benefit consequences of depictions of mental health on young adult readers, thus illustrating how literature attends to and constructs illness discourse.

Harding, J. R. (2023). Reader response criticism and stylistics. In The Routledge Handbook of Stylistics (pp. 69-86). Routledge.

In her chapter from The Routledge Handbook of Stylistics, Harding focuses on reader response criticism as a tool of literary analysis, especially regarding the physical and emotional reception of a work. The author reviews the development of reader response criticism in relation to formalist approaches and Wimsatt and Beardley’s notions of the “Affective Fallacy” and the “Intentional Fallacy.” While recognizing the formalist critics’ warning against overemphasis on emotion, the author’s primary stance alerts the readers to the interpretive possibilities embedded within the text and its representation, especially regarding mental health issues. Within her discussion, Harding observes the variety available in reader response theories and emphasizes their common concern concerning the active role of the reader in meaning construction. Bridging a gap between reader response and formalist critique, this chapter analyzes how emotion can constructively be used in literary analysis while retaining objectivity toward the text. This is important for my analysis of mental health in literature because it highlights the respondents’ emotions as important elements that shape their understanding of mental illness stories. This book will aid me in constructing my argument on how literature prompts the creation of empathy and reinforces negative stereotypes about mental health.

James, M., & Merickel, A. P. (2005). Reading literature and writing argument (2nd ed.) Pearson Prentice Hall.

In this textbook, James and Merickel provide a sophisticated introductory framework to the critical analysis of literature and persuasive essay writing grounded on textual evidence. The authors argue for active engagement with the text by highlighting the need to consider the socio-political and literary environment of a given work. In addressing mental health issues, the textbook includes case studies from Plath and Woolf, who are profoundly impacted by mental illness in their writings. The book prepares students to construct well-formed argumentative essays and, more importantly, enables them to critique the discourse on mental health in literature. This resource will help refine my ability to analyze literary texts and construct arguments regarding their portrayals of mental illness, thereby assisting my study of the relationship between literature and societal perceptions of mental health.

Landsverk, I. (2024). Stories of experience: Representations of mental illness and suicide in young adult literature [Master Thesis, NTNU]. https://ntnuopen.ntnu.no/ntnu-xmlui/handle/11250/3147670

In this master’s thesis, Landsverk analyzes narrative structures in young adult literature, focusing on Niven’s All the Bright Places and Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why. The analysis explores the roles of implied authors and homodiegetic narrators and narrates their influence on the narratives to ascertain the sociocultural mentality about suicide and mental illness. Landsverk contends that the narrative in Thirteen Reasons Why, while depicting the evolution of depression, is so authentically portrayed that it exacerbates the misconceptions and stereotypes of mental health due to the unreliable narration. On the other hand, All the Bright Places is critiqued for portraying mental illness and suicide through a relatively dependable narrative lens. The argument made by this thesis is that literature plays an individual, societal role by educating readers on humanity’s multifaceted experiences and simultaneously influencing societal discourse focusing on emotional disposition and mental health. Landsverk illustrates the dynamic rapport literature shares with society and carries the potential of narrative to change attitudes toward mental health issues. Therefore, this work is invaluable for the discourse of mental illness representation in young adult fiction. This analysis will support my research regarding the impact of narrative techniques on the understanding of mental health and the role of literature in social dialogue.

Maghfiroh, D. (2024). Narratives of mental health in modern prose literature. Journal of Literary Prose and Society, 1(1). https://jlps.polteksci.ac.id/index.php/jlps/article/view/1

This article offers an insightful analysis of contemporary prose literature using a narrative about mental health. Through the lens of modern prose literature, Maghfiroh explores how contemporary narratives engage with the intricacies of mental health alongside social constructs. The study utilizes qualitative methods, performing thematic analysis on selected 21st-century literature, which highlights the author’s narrative style, character construction, and symbolic imagery representing various mental health challenges. This analysis demonstrates how characters’ struggles with internal and external societal interactions transcend stereotypes, promoting empathy among audiences. In addition to other insights, Maghfiroh looks into the impact of cultural context on the characters’ encounters with mental illness. The results highlight the ability of literature as not only a mirror of societal attitudes but also a powerful tool in shaping the understanding and empathy toward the mentally ill. Concerning prose as a subgenre of literature, this article advocates for a widened discourse concerning the literature and mental health intersection while arguing that literature serves as a reflection of social issues and evokes emotions. How contemporary stories are constructed about compassion toward mental health concerns makes Maghfiroh’s work relevant and important for educators and researchers studying literature’s role in mental health advocacy.

Pérez García, A. (2022). Mental illness in English literature: Attitudes and representations [Bachelor’s thesis, Universidad de Oviedo]. http://hdl.handle.net/10651/63474

In this comprehensive Bachelor’s thesis, Pérez García looks into the aspects of mental illness affecting English literature, focusing particularly on its representations and society’s perceptions throughout time. The first chapter explains the primary relations and describes the perception of mental health over three centuries. The second chapter focuses on the analysis of different pieces of literature like Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” and Miriam Toews’ “All My Puny Sorrows.” Pérez García analyzes the attitude toward mental illness found in these texts, emphasizing the feminine aspect. The author investigates how the works relate to each other and integrates them into the larger context of history and culture. In this manner, she emphasizes the role of literature in portraying societal shifts concerning mental health by showing how narratives can both reinforce and interrogate existing frameworks of understanding mental illness. The thesis participating in the debates about the issues of people with mental illnesses within literature demonstrates the English literary tradition in a new light, which is important to my research question on the relationship between literature and societal perceptions of mental health.

References

Aberle, A. (2021). Mental illness representation in young adult literature. Graduate Research Papers. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/1880

Harding, J. R. (2023). Reader response criticism and stylistics. In The Routledge Handbook of Stylistics (pp. 69-86). Routledge.

James, M., & Merickel, A. P. (2005). Reading literature and writing argument (2nd ed.) Pearson Prentice Hall.

Landsverk, I. (2024). Stories of experience: Representations of mental illness and suicide in young adult literature [Master Thesis, NTNU]. https://ntnuopen.ntnu.no/ntnu-xmlui/handle/11250/3147670

Maghfiroh, D. (2024). Narratives of mental health in modern prose literature. Journal of Literary Prose and Society, 1(1). https://jlps.polteksci.ac.id/index.php/jlps/article/view/1

Pérez García, A. (2022). Mental illness in English literature: Attitudes and representations [Bachelor’s thesis, Universidad de Oviedo]. http://hdl.handle.net/10651/63474

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THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS PERTAIN TO MY RESEARCH QUESTION: IN WHAT WAYS DOES LITERATURE VIEW AND REPRESENT MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL ILLNESS?

In What Ways Does Literature View and Represent Mental Health and Mental Illness

Instructions
Submit your Annotated Bibliography here. This document must include a minimum of five viable source citations, including at least two scholarly articles from databases, with corresponding annotations. Citations must be formatted according to the style manual used by the corresponding academic discipline (see examples above of APA and MLA).