Coming of Age
Emma Wellington 10/17/11
Coming of Age Essay English 10/ Weiss
Coming of age is a child’s transformation into adulthood and maturity. Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years; we grow old by deserting our youthful years and starting a new as an adult. With coming of age comes responsibilities and the answers to the questions that we have held on to for years. Interestingly enough, the time that this process takes however, is based on a child’s life situations and personality. Curiosity, losses, events and people influencing them in their young life are some examples of traits that determine the time it takes for this process to occur. The separation of parents also, is a huge contributing factor to the coming of age process. In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the movie Stand By Me , directed by Rob Reiner, and the short story Reunion by John Cheever, coming of age is forced upon the young protagonists because of the separation of their parents and the influences that they have had on them.
In the novel Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio is the seven year old protagonist. Antonio is greatly influenced by his parents conflicting views of religion which makes it very difficult for Antonio to accept either of their belief systems. Antonio’s mother, Maria, is a devoutly Catholic daughter of a farmer. She wants Antonio to follow her Luna family tradition by becoming a priest. Antonio’s father, Gabriel, is the son of vaqueros, or cowboys. He would prefer that Antonio follow the Marez family tradition of restless wandering across the llano, or long, grass-land plains. Another very influential character in Antonio’s life is Ultima. Ultima came to live with Antonio and his family during the summer of Antonio’s seventh birthday. Even though Antonio is very inelegant for his age, and has been moved up a grade, he learns a great deal from Ultima. She teaches him the things that he cannot learn in school or
Coming of Age Essay English 10/ Weiss
Coming of age is a child’s transformation into adulthood and maturity. Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years; we grow old by deserting our youthful years and starting a new as an adult. With coming of age comes responsibilities and the answers to the questions that we have held on to for years. Interestingly enough, the time that this process takes however, is based on a child’s life situations and personality. Curiosity, losses, events and people influencing them in their young life are some examples of traits that determine the time it takes for this process to occur. The separation of parents also, is a huge contributing factor to the coming of age process. In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the movie Stand By Me , directed by Rob Reiner, and the short story Reunion by John Cheever, coming of age is forced upon the young protagonists because of the separation of their parents and the influences that they have had on them.
In the novel Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio is the seven year old protagonist. Antonio is greatly influenced by his parents conflicting views of religion which makes it very difficult for Antonio to accept either of their belief systems. Antonio’s mother, Maria, is a devoutly Catholic daughter of a farmer. She wants Antonio to follow her Luna family tradition by becoming a priest. Antonio’s father, Gabriel, is the son of vaqueros, or cowboys. He would prefer that Antonio follow the Marez family tradition of restless wandering across the llano, or long, grass-land plains. Another very influential character in Antonio’s life is Ultima. Ultima came to live with Antonio and his family during the summer of Antonio’s seventh birthday. Even though Antonio is very inelegant for his age, and has been moved up a grade, he learns a great deal from Ultima. She teaches him the things that he cannot learn in school or