Adolescenza, identità, autonomia: rappresentazioni e funzioni del gioco nella narrativa angloamericana contemporanea

This thesis examines the representation of play in a selection of angloamerican novels. By taking into account Lord of the Flies by William Golding, The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan, and Tideland by Mitch Cullin the analysis will explore how play functions as a mechanism for simulating and deconstructing behavioural patterns previously observed and later autonomously reproduced in the absence of adult normative frameworks. Drawing on the sociological theories of Erving Goffman and Harvey Sacks, as well as Roger Caillois' foundational work on the ludic, the study investigates how play becomes a site of identity negotiation and a means of reconfiguring the ordinary in relation to social conventions and expectations. The analysis highlights the ambivalent role of play as both a creative and unsettling force, particularly in narrative contexts marked by the collapse of adult authority and the emergence of alternative social orders.