The melodramatic form in the "Hardy Boys": An analysis of a popular juvenile fiction series.

Abstract

An analysis was undertaken of 29 volumes of a popular juvenile fiction series, the Hardy Boys, in publication since 1927. Drawing upon Victor Turner's schema of social drama, this study sought to examine the degree to which the melodramatic form is employed in the texts. The distinguishing characteristic of the melodramatic form is the portrayal of a villain or villains who have breached the social order and who, upon defeat, are subject to a process of exclusion from the social order. In addition, with its emphasis on crime and the pursuit of criminals, the series allowed for the analysis of changing images of deviance and social order in popular youth fiction over time. Given the intent to examine the manifest content as well as the underlying frameworks and structures of the texts, both a content analysis and a linguistically-based structural analysis were employed. Overall, the hypothesis that the Hardy Boys books are melodramatic in form was supported. In 28 of the 29 texts, characters who were portrayed as villains were, upon defeat, subject to a process of exclusion. Moreover, as further hypothesized, changing images of deviance and social order were reflected in the series over time. Central to the findings of the present study was the role of ritual in the enactment of social drama. Ritual or ceremonial acts provide the means by which characters' positions within--or outside of--the social order are established in the texts. As such, this study demonstrates the degree to which ritual is integral to class stratification. It further suggests that the performance of ritual, in providing a mechanism through which the social order is maintained and legitimated--or alternatively, contested and subjected to processes of change--furnishes a stage for the enactment of hegemonic struggles.