Abstract
Adolescence corresponds to a cultural and modern phenomenon that implies a change in the perception of the distinctness between puberty and childhood. This was associated with the emergence of a social moratorium as an imposition of an approximately ten-year wait until the youngsters could be considered as adults. The psychic aspect of adolescence is marked by the return of Oedipal matters, which reinforces adolescence as a period of revived conflicts and affects that must be elaborated. Freud highlights the importance of identification when considering its participation crucial to the constitution of Ego and personality. Literary works can work as a means of communication for unconscious aspects, as they can help in the representation of its matters. The objective of this study was to analyze the processes of identification with literary characters in adolescence. Interviews were carried out with students attending high school: the first interview was semi-structured and counted with the participation of 26 adolescents; for the second, non-structured interview, 4 students were selected among these 26. Analyzing the interviews, we found three main types of identificatory aspects with literary characters, which are: identification with who you already are; identification with who you would like to be; and identification with who you would like to have as a partner. When examining the narratives of the most mentioned literary characters we noticed what seems to be identificatory aspects of narcisical reparation considering the preference for characters who invariably overcome the obstacles that are set. Those narratives also seem to equate the social moratorium that is imposed to the adolescents. We also realized that literature may work as a transitional resource, offering access to possibilities of social, love and professional lives.
Keywords:
Adolescence; Literature; Identification