The Search for Identity

The search to discover one's individual identity and place in life is a universal theme in literature. Popular novelists, philosophers and classical authors have explored this theme in various forms such as dramas, comedies, non-fiction works, stage plays, romances and tragedies. In The Princess Diaries, author Meg Cabot takes a light-hearted approach to the American adolescent quest for identity. American teenage culture has evolved as a culture within a culture, and children today find it necessary to locate their place within the often-rigid social cliques found in modern American high schools. Later, as adults, these same individuals will necessarily repeat their quest to find their identity in the broader world, but prior to graduation, the socially competitive world of high school represents the entire plane of existence for most adolescents. High school is something of a social proving ground, and it allows American youth to...