Review Of ' Coming Of Age '

“I am a greaser. I am a JD and a hood. I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people. I rob gas stations. I am a menace to society. Man do I have fun!” exclaimed Ponyboy. The Greasers play the role of the unlawful “hoodlums” in their community. They are considered wild and unruly. When a Soc sees a Greaser, they assume they are dirty troublemakers and white trash. The Greasers were

In The Outsiders, a book written by S.E. Hinton, there are two polar opposite gangs, the socs and the greasers. The socs, who are high class, have mustangs and “tuff” cars and wear plaid clothing called madras. The Greasers, who are lower class, are known for their long and greasy hair, wearing leather jackets and being hoods. They only have each other and always have everyone’s back. No matter the situation like leaving a door open in case they need to run away from home because of an abusive dad , they can count on one another. Ponyboy, a 14 year old Greaser, who is also the protagonist, along with other characters lose themselves while trying to be someone else they’re not. Hinton teaches us that it is important to remember that individual

     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

The Greasers’ hair symbolizes their gang. Ponyboy remarks, “We wear our hair long and dress in blue jeans and T-shirts, or leave our shirttails out and wear leather jackets and tennis shoes or boots.”(3) Ponyboy, Johnny and other members have greasy long hair in throughout most of the story. All in all facts show the Greasers’ hair as a major symbol.

While Ponyboy was being drowned by Bob, a Soc, Johnny take out his knife and kills Bob. Looking to not get caught, Johnny and Ponyboy go to Dallas for advice. He tells them to take a train to Windrixville, and hide in an old abandoned church until he tells them the coast is clear. Later in the church Johnny gets an idea. “Were gonna cut our hair, and your gonna bleach yours”(S.E Hinton 71) Hair is everything to greasers. “Maybe we couldn't have Corvairs or Madras shirts, but we could have hair”(S.E Hinton 71) Ponyboy is not happy with being labeled as a Greaser. However, after he cuts of his hair, the one thing that labels him, Ponyboy will be neither a Soc or Greaser. Life is only getting harder for Ponyboy. After some times passes, a fire takes place at the church. Dallas, Johnny, and Ponyboy are all injured. No doubt, Ponyboy is reflecting back to what happened the night of Bob's death. Perhaps he may be thinking ‘If only the Socs would leave Greasers alone, none of this would have happened’ With Johnny in critical condition, he is not expected to

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.

In the short stories, “Saving Sourdi,” by May-Lee Chai and “The Moths,” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the main character of each short story goes through their own coming of age experience where they are forced to mature in order to overcome an obstacle. Chai explains her main character, Nea’s, struggle as she is forced to mature and overcome the departure of her older sister, Sourdi, from her life after she gets married and moves away. Viramontes, on the other hand, depicts her narrator’s struggle as she is forced to mature and overcome the death of her Abuelita on her own. Despite their very different approaches, both Chai and Viramontes successfully convey their main character 's struggles in their journey from youth to adulthood.

Coming of age is an influential part of many people’s lives. They begin to leave behind their innocent childhood views and develop a more realistic view on the world around them as they step forward into adulthood. (Need to add transition) Many authors have a coming of age theme in their books; specifically, Harper Lee portrays a coming of age theme in his book To Kill A Mockingbird. Through the journeys of their childhoods, Jem and Scout lose their innocence while experiencing their coming of age moment, making them realize how unfair Maycomb really is.

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.

Greased back hair, tattered blue jeans, and a white t-shirt, that is how you describe a Greaser. “My hair is longer than a lot of boys wear theirs, squared off in back and long at the front and sides, but I am a greaser and most of my neighborhood rarely bothers to get a haircut. Besides, I look better with long hair” (Hinton 1). This quote explains how the Greasers get judged by their physical appearance. The Socs pick on them and beat them up just because of their appearance. But, they do not change themselves to conform with the Socs, because they are loyal to the

“My hair is longer than a lot of boys wear theirs, squared off in the back and long at the front and sides, but I am a greaser and most of my neighborhood rarely bothers to get a haircut” (Hinton 1). Ponyboy Curtis (yes, that is his real name) is a greaser (someone in a lower social class or a someone who “comes from the wrong side of the tracks”). Ponyboy Curtis is interesting character. Ponyboy enjoys being alone, is a pleaser by nature, but he lacks common sense. All those traits wrapped into one does not make Ponyboy a steriotpical gangbander.

One of the most prominent themes in Coming of Age stories is the loss of innocence. Authors often dramatize this life moment to demonstrate how important adolescence is to someone’s life. In Through the Tunnel, Jerry, the protagonist, proves this by attempting to swim through an underwater tunnel as a rite of passage. In The Intruder, Kenneth proves it by having to make a life-or-death decision, even though it’s not his life on the line. Finally, the narrator of American History proves it by falling in love with a boy. In those three coming of age stories, the authors utilize light and dark imagery to show contrast between the light and happy world of childhood, and the comparatively darker and scarier world of adulthood, and the loss of childhood innocence.

The Greasers are known for their long greasy hair and always seem to be fighting with the rich kids named the Socs. One night, Ponyboy and Johnny plan to run away until they are stopped a group of Socs who are mad at them for hanging out with their girlfriends. While one Soc is drowning Ponyboy, Johnny stabs and kills the Soc named Bob. Realizing what happened, Ponyboy and Johnny do in fact run away, and they end up at an abandoned church in the country with money and a gun that a member from their gang named Dally provided for them. After spending a few days away from town, the boys decide to come home and turn themselves in to the police. On their way back home, they see the church they had been staying in on fire with little children inside.

One awakening stage in a person’s life is the stage between being a child and being an adult. When an author writes about this stage it can be referred to as coming of age literature: literature that follows the life of a person as he or she shifts from adolescence to young adulthood and discovers who he or she is while seeing the world around him or her differently. These coming of age narratives look back at the time of a youth when he or she is influenced by his or her family, mentors, friends, peers, relationships, and community, all of which help shape the youth into the person they will one day become. And, coming of age literature are narratives which contain similar characteristics; such as, innocence of the world’s expectations, life that seems simple as a child but more complex the older one becomes, the disappointment of discovering life is not as black and white as one has perceived, tension between family members or peers, conflicts within oneself as understanding of the world changes, wisdom as one ages, and acceptance and realization that the adult world is complex and difficult. In the short story “Boys and Girls,” Alice Munro successfully explores the protagonist innocence of the world’s stereotypes, conflict between who she

Both novels outline that growing up is a major factor and fundamental stage in an individual’s life. However, as introduced in both these texts the process of growing up in some cases, may