Adolescence comes 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, once the former falls for a girl named Maybelle their relationship changes. …show more content…
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 are looking for self-affirmation in their partners, and Pete is no exception. He appears to learn nothing about Maybelle but much about himself. Pete finds that towards the conclusion of the relationship he is the only one involved. He has showered Maybelle with gifts and services, asking only for her affection in return. But 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 him feel, describing how his “body was like a harp and her words and
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
Adolescence is a transitional stage of becoming an adult by going through puberty. Hence, an adolescent is an individual going through the stages adolescence. This is a critical stage for physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development. Since the onset of puberty varies, it is difficult to give a specific age range for an adolescent. There is crucial evidence of substance use among boys and girls during this transition. The use of drugs
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.
I believe Sucker is a living, breathing person. In the story, Carson McCullers supplied hints that indicate Sucker is real. If he was imaginary, McCullers would have incstead hinted that he is imaginary. In short stories, every detail the author includes is there for a reason . McCullers wrote about Sucker : ‘’there was a long cut on his cheek’’, ‘’he was always hanging around’’, and ‘’To me and my kid sisters he was like our brother.’’ These phrases are all ones you would use to describe a living, breathing person. Had McCullers constructed Sucker to be imaginary, she would have given the reader clues in the story indicating that, such as ‘To me and my kid sisters, who share my love of daydreaming, Sucker was like our brother ‘’ or ‘’Sucker
The adolescent individuals begin to reach sexual maturity and established their identity as an adult. This period marks the transition in which individuals think and reason. They also start to encounter conflicts between their family and their peers.
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
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
In a tedtalk, Andrew Stanton said “We all love stories. We're born for them.” (Stanton 1:45) Which is true, our society’s culture is driven by storytelling. Stanton was the mind behind well known movies like Finding Nemo and WALL-E. He obviously had has time to perfect the art of storytelling. He came up with rules to create a good story. Some of the rules being make me care, 2 + 2, no happy village, villain, or love story. And those are just some of the rules used to create a good story.In Kurt Vonnegut's Miss Temptation, Vonnegut uses the rules make me care, 2 + 2, and makes a promise. Vonnegut also breaks the rule of no love story as there is potential for a love story in the end.
For Erikson (1950) adolescence is a period during which individuals seek to avoid dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion by establishing a sense of personal identity. Individuals have to find answers for two major questions “who am I?” and “what is my place in society?” Identity is a “conscious sense of individual uniqueness” and an “unconscious striving for a continuity of experience” (Erikson, 1968, p. 208).
Adolescence is the transitional period in a persons life time that links childhood and adulthood. The factors that influence development during adolescence include genetic/biological and environmental/social. There are many developmental issues that take place during the transition from an adolescent to a young adult. The issues of emerging adulthood(18-25) are characterized by new experiences, experimentation, exploration as well as new developmental tasks.
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