Adoleszenzroman und Selbstfindung – Jugend zwischen Rebellion und Identitätssuche in Benjamin Leberts Roman Crazy
Adolescent Novel and Self-Discovery – Youth Between Rebellion and the Search for Identity in Benjamin Lebert’s Novel Crazy

Author(s): Adisa Kadić
Subject(s): German Literature, Theory of Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Društvo germanista u Bosni i Hercegovini (DGuBiH) / Germanistenverband in Bosnien-Herzegowina (GViBH)
Keywords: Adolescence; Identity Development; Role Confusion; Self-Discovery; Young Adult Novel; Benjamin Lebert; Crazy;
Summary/Abstract: Youth and adolescence represent an extremely dynamic stage of life, characterized by profound physical, psychological, and social transformations. These processes influence not only the formation of an individual identity, but they are also shaped by social structures and have even contributed to the emergence of new literary genres. Within this context, the adolescent novel addresses the intense transitions that develop on the threshold between youth and adulthood. Benjamin Lebert’s novel Crazy can be understood as a paradigmatic example of this genre, as it depicts the experiences of a young protagonist as a process of self-discovery situated between social adaptation and rebellion. The narrator presents an authentic portrayal of adolescent crises and selfdoubt, of tensions between individual autonomy and social expectations, and between the desire for belonging and the need for distance. In his novel, Lebert reflects on central topics of adolescence such as identity construction, social roles, and the interplay between freedom and responsibility. The analysis demonstrates that the novel can be read not only as a contemporary example of the adolescent novel but must also be situated within a broader literary and cultural context as an expression of the forming the adolescent identity.

• Details
• Contents