I Am The Cheese Conventions

The novel I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier makes use of many sophisticated narrative and textual features as well as a twisting plotline. Due to this, many teenage readers find this novel confusing, pointless and unenjoyable. However there are a number of teenage readers who relate to, understand and even enjoy this novel. There are numerous reasons for this. The reasons for young adults not enjoying this novel are use of complicated narrative structure, textual features, vocabulary and the etymology of this, the context of this novel and the ever-changing plot. The reasons why I Am the Cheese should not be considered a mind-boggling, deliberately confusing detective story with no real ‘solution’ are its targeted audience, its purpose, plot and its benefits.

Many readers find I Am the Cheese mind-boggling, and deliberately confusing due to the style this novel is written in, mainly the
These reasons are its plotline, use of sophisticated vocabulary and textual features and it’s context. I believe that the values, issues and knowledge that this novel teaches makes this novel well worth while for all young adults. Even if they struggle through the novel, the end reward of increased knowledge is more than enough to compensate. I Am the Cheese may be mind-boggling and deliberately confusing and in places written far beyond the sophistication level of young adults but they will not increase their sophistication without novels of this calibre. As the African Proverb says "Smooth seas do not skilful sailors make.” I disagree that I Am the Cheese is a mind-boggling, deliberately confusing detective story with no real ‘solution’, written far beyond the sophistication level of young adults even though these negatives put forward above far outweigh, in quantity at least, the