Everyone has their own idea of ​​literature and what separates a work of literary fiction from a work of popular fiction. In general, a work must adhere to literary traditions, convey deeper meaning, and present conventional themes to be recognized as a work of literary fiction. To be recognized as young adult literary fiction, a work must meet all of the above requirements and must be appropriate in style and subject matter for its intended audience, provide the audience with a valuable moral lesson, and focus on some sort of theme. which revolves around coming of age or self-realization. However, a work can meet all of the above requirements and still lack the cohesion, harmony, and conciseness necessary to meet the standards of literary fiction. A literary work weaves together various aspects of a novel that may on the surface seem unrelated in the interest of achieving a certain level of stylistic and technical aptitude. While a work of popular fiction is simply a source of entertainment that gratifications the masses without significant end results, a work of literary fiction is a unified work of art with a purpose. Diana Wynne Jones's children's novel Howl's Moving Castle is a work of fiction that meets all the requirements needed to be considered a literary work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Howl's Moving Castle begins in "the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and invisibility cloaks really exist" (Jones 1 ). The novel's protagonist, Sophie Hatter, is the eldest of three sisters, and this is considered “a real misfortune” in Ingary (Jones 1). Both of Sophie's biological parents have died before the story takes place and she is left in the care of her stepmother, Fanny Hatter. As the eldest of three sisters, Sophie is set to inherit the family hat business while her sisters continue to make their dreams come true. Sophie gets tired of living like an old maid working in a hat shop, but continues to do so because she feels that is her destiny. Meanwhile, a magical war looms on the horizon in Ingary. Howl, a wizard with a reputation for stealing the hearts and souls of beautiful young women, roams the areas surrounding Ingary in his enchanted castle, and the Witch of the Wastes, a powerful and dangerous witch who has been banished to the Wastes, a land sad outside Ingary, he's on the prowl. One day, the Witch of the Wastes visits the Hatter's hat shop and, by mistake, turns Sophie into an old woman using a curse. Sophie, hoping to find a way to break the curse, decides to visit the wizard Howl. Upon entering Howl's Moving Castle, Sophie meets Calcifer, a fire demon, and Michael, a young apprentice. Calcifer recognizes that Sophie has been cursed and makes a deal with Sophie. If he can break the mysterious contract between Calcifer and Howl that keeps Calcifer tied to the castle hearth, he will undo the curse of the Witch of the Wastes. Jones takes fantastical concepts and blends them with traditional aspects of young adult literature in a way that creates a stunning work of literary art. Seda Yavas, author of the scholarly article “Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (1986) or the Story of a New Mythology,” observes, “The very title of the novel could be interpreted as a warning to readers that this it will be a typical fairy tale, although all the necessary elements are present throughout thetext, but in a completely different order in completely different associations and combinations." Jones explores traditional young adult themes of self-definition and coming of age, placing the novel's readers in unconventional but fully developed settings and situations Charles Butler, author of the book Four British Fantasists: Place andCulture in the Children's Fantasies of Penelope Lively, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones and Susan Cooper, acknowledges: In recent years, Jones's critical success has grown markedly, in part because his exploitation of such "postmodern" devices as multiple or fragmented subjectivities, alternative realities, self-altering narratives, intertextuality, and generic hybridity have made her a more fashionable writer in the theory-conscious academy of the 1990s and beyond simplistic novels used in young adult literature and weaves aspects of high fantasy into them so that you can highlight or dramatize the actions that take place or the lessons taught in the novel. Jones didn't create a work of popular fiction with a flashy plot and alternate realities just for its entertainment value. He hasn't created a work of young adult literature that relies solely on fairy tale clichés to teach a lesson. Instead, Jones explores elements of fantasy to heighten and complicate the young adult story of Howl's Moving Castle in a style befitting a work of literary fiction. One of Jones's most notable adherences to the young adult literary tradition is seen in the absence of Sophie's Parents. Absent parents are quite common in young adult literature. Removing parental figures from a novel allows the author to catapult the protagonists into worlds of their own. The absence of parents in young adult literature is a technique used by authors so that the focus of the novel is shifted towards the ideals, choices and actions of the young person. It is the literary equivalent of a mother bird pushing her young out of the nest and forcing them to live their own lives. The absence of parental figures advances the plot by forcing the protagonists to act on their own initiative. Jones exploits the absence of her parents in Howl's Moving Castle in order to foster the growth of Sophie's character. Another way Jones follows the young adult literary tradition is by establishing boundaries for Sophie to overcome as her character grows. Since Sophie is the eldest of Ingary's three sisters, she is destined to lead a quiet life. Her sisters may marry, learn magic, and succeed, but Sophie knows she will have to live the life of an old woman in her hat shop. A common motif in young adult literature is the violation of the rules or conditions of the setting, so Jones includes the limitations of Sophie's identity to highlight Sophie's character development and self-definition. definition, Jones employs another common young adult literature through Sophie's attitude. Sophie is extremely unhappy in her position at the beginning of the novel. She feels like her never-ending job at the hat shop is being exploited by her stepmother and feels trapped in her reality. When she is cursed by the Witch of the Wastes, she manages to seek another reality and escape her own. Escapism is a common theme in both young adult literature and fantasy literature, and Jones draws attention to and raises questions about this theme as the novel progresses. In addition to blending aspects of the young adult literary tradition with the fantasy tradition, Jones uses several literary devices that complement the qualityliterary of the work. An example of this can be seen in the self-fulfilling prophecy of Sophie's age. When Sophie is desperate for her identity at the beginning of the novel, she feels as if "the last few months spent sewing have turned her into an old woman" (Jones 17). Shortly after this moment, the Witch of the Wastes curses Sophie and turns her into an old woman, and this fulfills the prophecy. The Witch of the Wastes made Sophie's fears of growing old come true in a hat shop. Age is a big topic in young adult literature, but Jones delves into the concept of age in a completely fantastic way. Deborah Kaplan, author of the article “Disrupted Expectations: Young/Old Protagonists in Diana Wynne Jones Novels,” highlights the importance of age in the young adult literary tradition: “Issues of age confusion are particularly notable in works for young readers, for whom age is considered an urgent concern"). In addition to serving as a self-fulfilling prophecy, Sophie's age constitutes a major turning point in her character's development. As a young girl, Sophie was uncomfortable with her identity. As she gets older, Sophie becomes more open and comfortable. Because she does not feel limited by her identity as the eldest of three sisters as an old woman, she is able to overcome her unfortunate fate. Sophie's old age allows her to feel more comfortable with her identity and to understand the banal nature of the boundaries she once perceived as determining her destiny. What was supposed to be a curse turns out to be a useful tool for character development. Another literary device used by Jones is the use of allusions in Howl's Moving Castle. Jones uses a lot of allusions in his work, but uses them in a slightly unconventional way. Based on the idea that Ingary is a reality where magic exists, Jones is able to shape literary allusions to fit his fantasy world. Among the allusions are references to Arthurian legend, the wonderful Wizard of Oz, JRR Tolkien's elven city of Rivendell and Hamlet. Clearly, Jones understands the importance of turning to works of classic literature to promote one's literary quality. One of the most surprising allusions Jones employs is the curse used on Howl by the Waste Witch. The curse is an allusion to John Donne's poem "Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star". In Ingary, John Donne's writing takes on a magical meaning that diverges from reality. The poem functions as a curse, and is able to do so successfully because of the fantastical alternate reality that removes the poem's original or true meaning. In Ingary, magic is normal, so normal is foreign. If magic is real in Ingary, then poems can certainly be curses. Jones uses the opportunity to blend reality with fantasy in a way that helps the story generate its own form of believability. Because of the fantastical structure of her novel, she is able to generate a suspension of disbelief in her audience in what Farah Mendlesohn, author of Diana Wynne Jones: The Fantastic Tradition and Children's Literature, calls "a completely immersed fantasy." Jones allows his readers to fully immerse themselves in the land of Ingary from the beginning of the novel. Sophie is never shocked by the magic she witnesses in the world, and this further strengthens the believability of the novel. This suspension of belief generated by the totality of fantastic reality allows Jones to use allusions in a way that is different from standard usage. Jones is able to separate the world of the novel from the real one through his magical twists on literary allusions. The plausibility or credibility of the themes. 30-36.