Compare & Contrast

Addriana Carr

Dec. 8th 2008

EN 111

Levithan & Peters: Defining Normal Realms of Possibility

        Two of the most renowned writers in the gay teen fiction genre are David Levithan and Julie Anne Peters. Both of these writers have works that do not fit inside this genre, but have conveyed that this is where their true passion lies. The title of this paper is actually taken from two of their titles meshed together, Levithan’s The Realm of Possibility and Peters’ Define Normal. Although Levithan and Peters are both risky and vivid with their characters, they have many differences in their portrayals of reality and society in relation to emotions.

I have read multiple books by both authors mentioned and I’ve found that they both have one work in particular that could be seen as risky, even within their genre. In Peters’ book Luna, the main character, Regan, is the sister of a transgendered boy. This book is filled with risks, including one very awkward scene dealing with cross-dressing. Many shy away from the topic of transgendered teens because it is such a harsh reality to live with, but Peters stuck it out and produced a fine coming of age novel. Similarly Levithan took a political risk. In his novel, Wide Awake, the main character, Duncan, travels to a convention to support the United States’ first gay, Jewish presidential candidate. Many authors avoid religion whereas Levithan continually incorporates his religious pride into his works. These two writers have displayed that they will not veil their personal beliefs and feelings on controversial issues in order to sell copies. 

Not only do these writers tackle risky ideals, they also create vividly opinionated characters. Many display characteristics that you won’t soon forget, even after you’ve finished the book. For example, one of Peters’ main characters, Cece, is openly ‘out’. The girl’s day-to-day attire includes a t-shirt expressing her gay pride with a fun phrase like “2Q2BSTR8” (Peters, Keeping You). Levithan is more subdued when writing his characters, but nevertheless has created some memorable ones. In The Realm of Possibility, Levithan showcases the voices of twenty teens who all attend the same school. All of these characters are astoundingly different from one another. Some are zealous members of the church choir while others are drug dealers. He includes fanatics that obsess over things like body weight or the book The Catcher in the Rye. He also always includes at least one character that is Jewish, or at least interested in learning about the religion, in his books. Each of these authors has displayed some of their own unique traits within the characters of their novels.

In contrast however, both authors have decidedly different writing preferences when it comes to the setting of a story. Peters’ works are invariably placed within our known reality. Her books contain the same restrictions and ideals of our current society. Levithan takes a different approach, almost creating alternate universes in which his moral and gracious characters live. While society put strains on Peters’ characters and acts as the antagonistic force, Levithan’s characters are not seemingly influenced by society at all. His characters’ actions themselves create the story’s conflicts.  It’s quite easy to notice their different styles when you look at the structure of society in their novels. Peters usually places her characters in a normal school, with normal parents, who the teens usually fear finding out a secret. In most cases the secret is either the teen being gay or transgendered. Levithan’s characters are usually openly gay to friends, parents and their communities. Their school structure is more free. For example, in Boy Meets Boy, David had the school’s most well known drag queen, who was also the star quarterback, win the Homecoming Queen election. The cheerleaders rode Harleys around the football field at halftime instead of waving pom poms. His realities are bursting with unusual imagery and excitement. These details show that Peters is essentially the writer of your traditional gay, or coming of age novel, while Levithan prefers to show what is possible without societal constraints.

As you can probably see, Levithan’s books are more open and lively than some of the works Peters has produced. Most of his writings contain not only the traditional two party relationship but they also incorporate a larger picture. He shows readers emotional ties between everyone in the society he has created, not just the main characters. As mentioned in Wide Awake, the main character Duncan travels to a convention for his favored presidential candidate. He travels with a large group of people from his home town and encounters a huge gathering of millions of others, both supporters like themselves and oppositionists. Each side has a common goal they hope attending the event will reach. Levithan’s writings usually encompass groups of people in order to show that despite differences, each person is ultimately just as good, important, and opinionated as the next. On the other hand, Peters’ writings follow a different path. Hers are closed off in comparison to Levithan’s books. Many of her characters seem like they don’t interact with society at large. They primarily deal with only one another.

Although both authors differ, they follow similar writing patterns by doing the exact opposite (of what a reader would expect) when it comes to their setting and emotional constructs. Levithan’s characters are not influenced greatly by normal society, yet that is where and who they interact with the most. You’d think that characters not greatly affected by the opinions of society would mingle with it less, but Levithan really focuses on communities as a whole. The same can be said for Peters, who also seems to run in opposition of her setting when it comes to character restraints. In her stories, characters deal mainly with each other in a one on one basis, and again, only with immediate friends and family in a closed off setting. However, instead of their own actions taking precedence, society’s ideals seem to weigh much more harshly on her characters’ minds. This opposing structure makes for a good read. It keeps the reader guessing as to where each author will go to next, and to what extent.

Even though Peters and Levithan are authors in the same genre and share a few similarities when it comes to risk taking, they differ greatly in their presentation of emotions and society at large. I prefer Levithan’s books because I know they will undoubtedly hold something that no one else has yet thought up. His books instill a sense of community, pride, and hope in readers that I wish more people knew how to partake in. I chose to compare my favorite author with Peters because they are writers of the same genre and I wanted to look further into why I’m not as attracted to Peters’ writing. Her works just don’t hum with the same sort of imagination I praise in fictional novels and many of them leave me feeling gloomy. However, both authors are well known writers of teen fiction, in and out of the mainstream, and each enjoys a level of success that I greatly admire.

 

 

Works Cited

Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy. New York: Knopf/Random, 2003.

—. The Realm of Possibility. New York: Knopf/Random, 2004.

—. Wide Awake. New York: Knopf/Random, 2006.

Peters, Julie Anne. Keeping You a Secret. New York: Little, 2003.

—. Luna. New York: Little, 2004.

 

 

 

Nick & Norah’s Infinate Playlist was co-written by David Levithan & Rachel Cohn and was made into a movie. If you didn’t see it in theaters, you should deffinately rent it in a few months, it’s a cute date movie if you’re into that sort of thing.