Comparing Adolescence and Maturity in the Short Stories “Sucker” and “Araby”
Adolescence emanates from the Latin verb adolescere which means to grow into maturity. In other words, it is the period in which an individual must establish a sense of personal identity. In the Carson McCullers’s story “Sucker” two young characters struggle with their transition to adulthood. The narrator Pete, is 16, and the older of the two boys by about three years. The stories action covers an extended flashback in which Pete reflects on his relationship with his cousin Sucker, who has lived with him since his “folks were killed in a wreck when he was a baby” (McCullers 2). Pete generally treats sucker poorly causing the latter to isolate himself, however,
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In due of the fact that primarily, adolescent love is an attempt to arrive at a definition of one 's identity by projecting their self image on another person. Adolescents seek self-affirmation in their partners, and Pete is no exception. He appears to learn nothing about Maybelle but much about himself. Recognizing that towards the conclusion of the relationship he is the only one involved. He showers Maybelle with gifts and services, asking only for her affection in return. However his romance is never realized:“I met her going to the drug store and asked for a date. She told me she was sick and tired of my being around and that she had never cared a rap about me. She said all that. I just stood there and didn 't answer anything. I walked home very slowly” (McCullers 5). Furthermore, it is clear that to Pete, Maybelle is a purely physical entity in that, every description of her portrays only her beauty and indescribable perfection “ ..her hands…are very little and white…It is impossible to describe” (McCullers 2). Similarly, in Araby, the narrator shares the same blind obsession with the idea of winning the love of a perfect woman. The boys infatuation with Mangan 's sister drives him away from childhood towards adulthood. He breaks ties with childhood friends and luxuriates in his isolation. Like Pete he can think of nothing but how ecstatic she makes
Even thought Pete does not show caring emotions, his actions say all the words. For example: Donald said, "Pete do you ever dream about me?" Pete replied with, "What kind of question is that? Of course I don't dream about you." He said untruthfully. (pg.367). This is one of the only parts in this short story that shows the reader a very small part of Pete's soft side. Another example compares in a similar way that Pete does in fact have a connection with his only brother Donald. "There was something wrong with me, and you were helping me out. Taking care of me. Just the two of us. I don't know where everyone else was supposed to be." Pete said. (pg. 369) If someone were to analyze only this part of the story it would portray that in his dream he depended on Donald. When he says it was just the two of them, it gives the reader an idea that was the way it was supposed to be, that Pete didn't need anyone else in the world to help him but only needed the person he could truly rely upon. Dependency is one of the main concealed habits between siblings, not only growing up, but continuously throughout one others life. Another common inconspicuous idiosyncrasy is rivalry.
Adolescence is popularly known to be a very tumultuous stage in a person’s life. In the adolescent stage (also coined the identity vs. role confusion stage by theorist Erik Erikson) bodies are changing rapidly, emotions are unfamiliar and unexplainable, and refraining from succumbing to peer pressure is more challenging than ever.
In “Denaturalizing Adolescence,” Nancy Lesko uses rhetorical and historical readings to examine the truth about adolescents by challenging the universal characterizations that they are “coming of age.” When describing adolescence, Lesko states: “The knowledge about adolescents is
The adolescence stage in one’s life is often portrayed as a time of ‘storm and stress’ (Lipsitz, 1980). However, there are
The Biological aspects of adolescence is a period of great physical change, marked by a rapid growth spurt, the maturation of the reproductive system and continuing brain development. Adolescence are confronted with all kinds of changes within themselves mentally and physically as well as changes in how the outside world perceives them (Hutchison, 2015, pp 228). These changes can be difficult to handle if the adolescence struggles with a difficult home live, abuse or neglect. It is easy to see that Charlie is having a difficult time as a freshman in high school. He seems introverted, into his books and maybe a little bit socially awkward. He is having a difficult time making friends. He also seems nervous
Adolescence describes the transitional stage in a teenager’s life, from childhood to adulthood, where an individual evolves physically, psychologically, emotionally, cognitively and socially. It is a defined social category that is expressed through immaturity and unpredictability and allows an individual to learn and discover their sense of self and identity. The idea of adolescence came into perspective after children were expected to take on adult roles as soon as they were mature enough to, going straight from puberty to adulthood. As society changed and moulded, so did the ideas about life stages, which is evident in Erikson’s theory.
There is an only event that unites every single human being on the nature. Not everyone can say it is a pleasant experience, but no one can deny that it happened. This single event is labelled ‘growing up’. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, often uncovering questions that cannot be answered. During this time the adult world seems inviting and free, but only when we become members of a cruel, society can the happy ignorance of childhood be appreciated and missed. The novel Catcher in the Rye examines how adult life appears complex and incomprehensible to teenagers on the brink of entering it. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced
In this paper I plan to discuss the developmental stages of adolescence. Adolescents are also referred to as "teenagers" or "young adults." Adolescence begins after the childhood stage and ends right before adulthood. The years of adolescence range from 12 years old to 21 years old. The years of adolescence can be quite a roller coaster ride. Young people in this stage encounter a great deal of changes in their life as they prepare for adulthood. I will discuss emotional, intellectual, physiological, and social domains of development and how it relates to adolescents. I will also discuss some helpful tips for teachers to aide in communicating effectively to adolescents and understanding their
The intensity in our story develops when our narrator discovers she really doesn’t love Peter. It’s when he asks her if she fancy’s the waiter (151), when she understands, at that moment she does not love him. Here is when she falls out of love in Sarajevo. It is because our narrator has a certain abusive struggle from Peter, that she seems to change her mind about him in such an instance. But through out the story she doesn’t seem to mind the way he mentally abuses her, how he’s always putting her down, and she doesn’t seem to understand that he still thinks of his wife but is practically with her for the fact she’s a good “LAY”. Her constant thought of Mrs. Piper, Peter’s wife, although she never physically appears in the story, she seems to always be present in her and his mind, making it hard for her to be fully with her lover (Peter) and in this way further extend her fantasious love relationship. She seems to be in denial about what truly is going on, and how she wants to make this work, when in deed she’s only in it for the grade, but she doesn’t want to
First of all, with the use of plot and character as dramatic elements, MacLeod is able to depict the main characteristics of the nature of adolescence, mainly the search for identity and the quest for independence. Among the scientific community, adolescence is believed to be the most crucial period in human development. It is a period of “rapid biological, social and psychological change” (Soto, et al. 330). There are the transformations that define puberty, there are changes in the relationships and attitudes towards adults and peers, and many teenagers struggle to form a coherent identity (331). In the process of discovering their identities, most adolescents become self-centered. Having not yet
Adolescence is a time of stressful transition for teenagers. They are straddling the fence between childhood and adulthood. Changes in their bodies, brains, thinking, values, friends, responsibilities and expectations cause events that are usually a time fraught with turbulence, for both the teen and their parents. This is a normal part of human development, and must be endured in order to come out the other side, hopefully well-adjusted, happy, healthy, and
There are so many examples of child and adolescent behaviour is reported in the media on a daily basis. Such behaviour can be linked to a variety of different developmental theories, learning styles and sociocultural influences in learning and development. I decided to examine the article ‘Is teenage risk-taking vital for our species?’ from the guardian website. As it mentioned in the article above there are some descriptions needs to be understood. I think that the description of adolescence in the opening paragraph can be linked to Erikson’s idea on adolescent development. Erik Erikson was a psychologist who was a pupil of Sigmund Freud. He believed there are eight psychosocial stages that a child or young adult passes through. For him adolescence is a period when a young person is trying
"Araby" tells the story of an adolescent boy's initiation into adulthood. The story is narrated by a mature man reflecting upon his adolescence and the events that forced him to face the disillusioning realities of adulthood. The minor characters play a pivotal role in this initiation process. The boy observes the hypocrisy of adults in the priest and Mrs. Mercer; and his vain, self-centered uncle introduces him to another disillusioning aspect of adulthood. The boy's infatuation with the girl ultimately ends in disillusionment, and Joyce uses the specific example of the boy's disillusionment with love as a metaphor for disillusionment with life itself. From the beginning, the boy
Adolescence is the distinct transitional stage between childhood and adulthood in human development, extending primarily over the teenage years and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached (Rathus, 2014). However in some instances, this biological, cognitive, social and emotional maturity may not be reached until a later stage and may be dictated by gender. Adolescence is characterised by rapidly changing and unpredictable behaviour (Freud, as cited in Rathus 2014), heightened and unstable emotions (Hall, as cited in Rathus 2014), disturbances in identity, the gradual development of one’s moral reasoning (Kohlberg, as cited in Rathus, 2014) and the gradual establishment of one’s independence. Several of these changes may occur at differing phases in adolescent growth. This development is categorized into three separate stages; early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence. Early Adolescence, commencing from the ages of eleven or twelve until the age of fourteen, comprises of several features such as rapid biological development and maturity, heightened stress levels and limited coping capabilities. On the other hand, middle adolescence, from the approximate age of fourteen to sixteen, involves the gradual cease of biological change, an increase in coping strategies and declined stress levels. Furthermore, late adolescence, commencing from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen or nineteen, encompasses physical maturity, whereby the
In the short story Araby, we are shown a young boy’s first encounter with love and what he will do for this girl. To help represent the protagonist’s emotions and the way he views the world around him, Joyce uses color. The use and absence of color in the story helps the reader identify what the boy finds important in his life. This is done by using dark and sombre as adjectives and also not using color. Except, when Mangan’s sister (protagonist’s crush) is being described in the story. This when Joyce decides to use abundance of color to help create a contrast between the girl and the rest of the world.