The Power of Fear and Joy: The Young’s Emotional Agency in Dennis Kelly’s Our Teacher’s a Troll and DNA

<p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><b>The Power of Fear and Joy: The Young’s Emotional Agency in Dennis Kelly’s&nbsp;</b><b><i>Our</i></b> <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><b><i>Teacher’s a Troll</i></b><b>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</b><b><i>DNA</i></b> <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><i>Dr. Hande Dirim Kılıç, Kocaeli University, Türkiye</i> <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">Dennis Kelly’s plays often interrogate the intricate dynamics of youth, emotion, and morality <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">and how power dynamics and relationships shape the experiences of young characters. This <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">paper examines the portrayal of the youth’s and children's emotional experiences—particularly <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">joy and fear—in Kelly’s&nbsp;<i>DNA&nbsp;</i>(2008) and&nbsp;<i>Our Teacher’s a Troll</i>&nbsp;(2009) through the lens of age <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">studies. Both plays centre on young characters navigating morally complex situations, and <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">emphasize the distinct ways their emotions are articulated, suppressed, or manipulated. In&nbsp;<i>Our</i> <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><i>Teacher’s a Troll</i>, a fantastical and satirical narrative explores joy and fear as tools of resilience <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">and rebellion against authoritarianism, Kelly highlights the creative agency of children. <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">Conversely,&nbsp;<i>DNA</i>&nbsp;ventures into darker psychological terrains, where fear triggers collective <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">guilt, peer coercion, and moral disintegration. Using age studies as a critical framework, this <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">paper interrogates how Kelly’s representations challenge adult-centric perspectives on <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">emotional expression, offering nuanced depictions of youth’s and children’s agency and <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">vulnerability. By analysing the interplay between power dynamics, peer relationships, and <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">emotional landscapes in these works, the study explores how Kelly confronts traditional <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">narratives of emotional maturation and stereotypical perceptions youth and childhood as sites <p class="p1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variatio