Analysis Of On Turning Ten

A short story ‘Eleven’ by Sandra Cisneros dwells upon the memories of an eleven-year-old girl that spends her birthday at school and gets into a discomforting situation with her teacher because of her lack of confidence. In spite of the multiple colloquial phrases and childish expressions, this is a very philosophical piece of writing. It touches upon such global and adult issues as experience, freedom, aging, life and death, knowledge and restrictions. The symbolism is very sophisticated here – under the veiled mask

The poet addresses issues of the child observing an unhealthy and abusive relationship between his/her father and mother in the third stanza. The eighth line states, “Do we forgive our Fathers for marrying or not marrying our Mothers?” These words insinuate that the father treated the child’s mother badly or was abusive to her and that she deserved better. This is so considering the only reason to forgive someone for marrying another implies they treated that person improperly. Likewise, having to forgive someone for not marrying another simply displays how the other person never received what he or she

     Childhood is a time where children learn about the world around themselves. They see and experience many factors that influence their everyday lives, which help them grow stronger when they become adults. In 'Girl'; by Jamaica Kincaid and 'The Lesson'; by Toni Cade Bambara the characters within the stories learn valuable lesson with help them grow to become better individuals. In 'The Lesson'; the character of Sugar undergoes a realization that society does not treat everyone equally, that not every individual has the same opportunity and equality that they should have. In 'Girl'; the main character learns that she must be perceived as a woman and not as a slut, her mother brings to her

Often times readers desire for works that they can relate to on a personal level. With that in mind Billy Collins wrote a poem entitled, “On Turning Ten” discusses the hardships experienced from growing up. The poem is written from the perspective of a child who has turned ten years old and is looking back at their great life as a very young kid. The child sees the world in a different way and feels sad that he has grown up. Collins, through his poem, displays the emotional hardship of growing older and causes the reader to relate to the child as they remember their own experiences growing up.

Childhood is arguably the most exciting time of a person’s life. One has few responsibilities or cares, and the smallest events can seem monumentally thrilling. Often, people reflect on the memories of their youth with fondness and appreciation for the lessons they learned. Sarah Orne Jewett captures this essence perfectly in the excerpt from “A White Heron.” Jewett uses many literary devices, including diction, imagery, narrative pace, and point of view to immerse the reader in familiar feelings of nostalgia and wonder, and dramatize the plot.

The tone of the poem changes as the poem progresses. The poem begins with energetic language like “full of heroic tales” and “by a mere swing to his shoulder”. The composer also uses hyperboles like “My father began as a god” and “lifted me to heaven”. The use of this positive language indicates to the responder that the composer is longing for those days – he is nostalgic. It also highlights the perspective of a typical child. The language used in the middle of the poem is highly critical of his father: “A foolish small old man”. This highlights the perspective of a typical teenager and signifies that they have generally conflicting views. The language used in the last section of the poem is more loving and emotional than the rest: “...revealing virtues such as honesty, generosity, integrity”. This draws attention to a mature adult’s perspective.

In the short stories Eleven by Sandra Cisneros and On Turning Ten by Billy Collins both authors use multiple literary devices to achieve the theme of aging. In Eleven Sandra Cisneros uses figurative language, symbolism and mood to create the theme of aging. While in On Turning Ten the author uses word choice, figurative language and mood. The two of these authors use these literary devices to add to the theme but in different ways. These short stories both compare and contrast in their ways of achieving the theme of mood through figurative language.

Abraham Lincoln said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” Often times in our society young people push off responsibilities, it's easy to do. Technology and other innovations have made it convenient for us to become distracted and to push things off. However when growing up, sometimes taking responsibility cannot be avoided. In coming of age stories, the author uses symbolism to exemplify how the protagonists experience new independence and responsibility while they transition from childhood to adulthood.

The first stanza, which contains the son’s childish speech, is short, only three lines. However, by the stanza which contains the son’s angry talkback, the stanza is double in length, having four lines. Each line represents a literal level of maturity and growth that the son has gained. As time moves on, he is able to gain more and more experience in life. As his experience accumulates over time, so does his hostility. His terse, childish begging for his father to simply read another story turns to an angry speech about how he no longer beleievs in his father as an authority figure. Despite this, the son’s psyche changes back, as all this maturation is played out in the father’s head, and when he returns, he is back to his childish self, bu this stanza is the longest in the poem. This suggests that when someone is able to mature enough, they are able to comprehend more of the world than they did before, and are able to act

Adolescence is a bumpy and unknown section of the road known as life. Both the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier and the poem “Hard on the Gas,” by Janet S. Wong relate to the theme that “the road to growing up and maturing isn’t always smooth”. “Marigolds is the story of an adolescent who is growing up in the Great Depression. Through hard experiences and tumultuous emotions, the narrator learns that growing up is full of ups and downs. “Hard on the Gas” is a poem about a grandchild driving with his or her grandfather. The grandchild realizes that the road isn’t always perfect and that there will be bumps along the way. The theme “the road growing up and maturing isn’t always smooth” is conveyed in both of these selection.

However, in the following stanzas, Carter changes his tone and tense to show how he felt growing up with his father. He states, “I despised the discipline / he used to shape what I should be” (7-8). This shows Carter, even though he disliked the means of reprimand his father implemented, understands his father’s ways were to help him become the man he “should be.” Through this insight, Carter says, “not owning up that he might feel / his own when he punished me” (9-10). This is possibly saying not only did he bear the chastisement, but his father sensed the “pain” as well. Yet again, maybe Carter has a deeper message and is saying fathers and their children share the same troubles and triumphs. In addition, Carter remembers how he “didn’t show [his] need to him, / since his response to an appeal / would not have meant as much” (11-13). Furthermore, he states “his response,” (12) “would not have… / …been as real” (14). Telling such a harsh reality, Carter contrasts his statement and relays to the reader through “those rare [hard] times,” (15) “…the pure joy / survive[d]” (16-17).

The trials and tribulations adolescents face as they shed their innocence and cross the threshold into adulthood is a universal issue facing young readers in all eras. The dazzling use of simile in Charlies’ statement “my exit from

In coming of age stories, the protagonists often experience a pensive and dramatic moment where either they break through to adulthood or retreat to childhood - it is this moment that unveils the magnitude of growing up for the reader.

In many cultures, coming of age is often celebrated because children become young adults who grasp self-awareness and accountability. At the same time, childhood is threatened by responsibility, which is dreaded because there is an unpredictable world of adulthood waiting with no guarantees. James Hurst demonstrates the journey of growing up through life experiences everyone goes through in the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”. Throughout his use of mood, setting, and symbolism, Hurst shows that maturing requires reflecting on past experiences and losing innocence, which then can transform one’s outlook on life.

p. 82). Therefore, the adult narrator’s ability to comment and reflect on his child-self effectively emphasizes the naïve and vulnerable nature of youth, and contributes to the mood of foreboding and suspense throughout the novel, ‘now I was over confident. I expected things to go my way’ (Chapter 1. p. 28).