Coming Of Age Story Analysis

There are many examples of light and dark shown in “The Pearl,” by John Steinbeck. There are examples of light and dark shown through the pearl, people, and other objects. The main character Kino, who is poor, expects good things coming from the pearl but much darkness comes with it. Many occurrences of light and dark shown in the book is through Kino’s interaction with the pearl, malicious people, and objects valued by Kino.

The short story Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing is full of symbolism about the transition out of childhood. Doris accomplishes this by writing about a young boy named Jerry and his journey swimming through the tunnel. During this difficult transition the main character gains the tools he will need during adulthood. Lessing uses symbolism abundantly in Through the Tunnel to emphasize on the theme of the transition from childhood to adulthood.

     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

Most common cultures have rituals, celebrations, or traditional ceremonies to acknowledge the coming of age of boys and/or girls. The Hispanic culture have a traditional “Quinceañera” for young teenage girls turning age 15 to recognize her coming of age as a woman. Jews have “Bar Mitzvah” for men or “Bat Mitzvah” for women to celebrate coming of age. Although in some cultures, celebrating coming age is nothing less than actually celebrating; but in other cultures, such as Aborigine culture, rather than having a huge celebration, young teenage boys, age thirteen, are enduring an essential evaluation. In this stage of their life, their elders test them to see if they are “man” enough to survive by themselves.

In the novel “A Long Way Gone”, there are endless amounts of evidence to be found explaining why this novel is a “coming of age” novel. So, what exactly is “coming of age”? Typically, this is a story that is made up of three different factors: young characters who experience a crisis, absent or negative adult relations, and the incorporation of an epiphany moment. The story of Ishmael Beah could not be an any greater representation of this category of story, because at 12 years old there is no peace that could be described in his childhood simply because peace was absent.

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.

Coming of age is a recurring theme that is universally known throughout many different pieces of literature. Whether it’s influenced on true experiences, childhood memories, or even based on one’s current juvenile reality, many of theses works have a correlation between them that include many similar ordeals and struggles that the character goes through in order to metamorphosize into taking their first step out of childhood. One prominent theme that often appears is how one experiences and faces a time of tribulation and other walls that stand in one’s path. In effect, hardships mature and enlighten one, causing the loss of something such as childhood innocence. Lastly, these three combined points finally lead to one’s metamorphosis out of childhood. All in all, these three factors take one out of childhood, and slowly allows one step out into the reality of this world.

Lightness and darkness is a common theme throughout literature, most writers use it through symbols in their writing. In Poe’s story “Masque of the Red Death” and Hawthorne’s story “Minister’s Black Veil” both portray themes of lightness and darkness using symbolism throughout.

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.

Most of the time, becoming an adult is planned. There are religious ceremonies, the gaining of a driver’s license, and other forms of new responsibility to signify the coming of age. Sometimes though maturity comes at you like a freight train. It comes at you in the blink of an eye and there is no stopping it once it hits you. You are forced to grow up and take on new responsibilities that you thought you wouldn’t have to take on until many years later. It's up to you though to decide what to do from there. You can either try and run away from the problems you have come to face or you can take the train head on and conquer what has been presented to you. I decided to face the train.

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

Older characters in movies are depicted as wise people who guide others along the correct paths. These adults play an important role by supporting the major characters so that they may continue after they make a mistake or stray from their goal. Elders are depicted as having great compassion and understanding or having more worldly knowledge than the other characters in the film. Though many older characters are commonly portrayed as understanding they do not always follow the archetype. Each race has their own type of elder that go about helping characters in different ways. Asian elders tend to be very strict when dealing with younger characters were as asian elders tend to be cryptic or non-exist as they want younger people to find their

When you hear someone say “coming of age” you think of new responsibilities and expectations, that come with milestones of a certain age group. There are different ages that have different expectations, becoming a teenager, society expects that you accept more responsibility and that you are able to care for yourself in most situations. The ideals that society creates and expects us to follow often increase in responsibility as we grow older.

Whether it be due the malleable minds of children, or the turbulent world around them, dramatic changes in life are an absolute certainty. Young, naïve children are highly impressionable. Their parents teach them one thing, their friends another, and society, yet something else. Fickle, they morph in and out of the plethora of ideologies and mindsets laid out in front of them. This leads to a disorienting and rather confusing child-to-young-adult life, one without a clear sense of morality. The lack of focus upon what is right and wrong, inherently subjective terms, continues into our early adult hood and, for better or worse, seemingly defines the child for the rest of his or her life. This universal theme has been explored for many years through films aptly called “coming-of-age” stories, recently, and perhaps most effectively in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (2012). This film revolves around Sam and Suzy, two recently pubescent kids, their romantic affair, and their effects on the world around them. The film not only captures the youthful dynamic between the two protagonists, but explores the “coming-of-age” theme through Anderson’s signature flat perspective and through the actors’ portrayals of these characters.

“Could a scar be like the rings of a tree, reopened with each emotional season?” ― Magenta Periwinkle, Cutting Class. With each emotional season of growing up, our judgement as kids can be clouded and can cause us to make unforgettable situations for either good or bad reasons. Stories like Eleven about a young girl and realizing that all her previous years are still with her, A&P with a boy quitting his job over 3 young ladies that walk into the store, and The Intruder with a boy that thinks that being a man means you have to be a hero- these stories all show some type of emotional infatuation in the main character that clouds their judgement. The purpose of coming of age stories is to show how judgement can be clouded by our childhood emotions in certain situations. This can be seen in stories such as A&P, Eleven, and The Intruder.