Comparing One Friday Morning And The Ear The Arm
The lives of Nancy Lee in “One Friday Morning“ by Langston Hughes and Tendai from The Ear the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer are very different, but one thing they have in common is that by the end of their stories they have gone through a coming of age. The criteria for a coming of age story is showing courage, taking responsibility and thinking of others before yourself. They know what’s right even when they have to stand up to adults.
The character of Nancy Lee shows the growth of a person who experiences coming of age. When Nancy is going to get the 1st year of the scholarship free, she thinks about getting her mother a new coat with the leftover money from it. This is an example of her thinking of her mother instead of herself. Nancy shows courage after she is told she can’t get the scholarship. She doesn’t whine or complain but instead holds her head up high. Finally, Nancy shows responsibility when she decides that since she can’t get the scholarship she will stop this from ever happening to other girls like her,”I’ll fight to see that these things don’t happen to other girls as this has happened …show more content…
to me”(Langston). Just as Nancy Lee sees what the adults are doing is wrong, Tendai also experiences adults acting only for themselves and not caring for the child’s feeling or safety.
Tendai is a boy who has been sheltered all of his life and some wonder if he will ever be a man.
But away from the safety of his controlling father he grows into a man protecting his younger sister and brother. When the children are kidnapped Tendai is really afraid but he wants to make sure his little brother doesn’t get upset. Tendai shows that he is thinking of others more than himself when he “...tried to appear calm for Kuda’s sake” (53). Tendai shows courage when he is ready to fight even though he might die ”If the worst happens, you’re going to die... The important thing was to die for the right thing, and with dignity” ( 285) . When Tendai blows out the candles and he wishes for courage instead of wishing for something silly. He demonstrates taking responsibility for himself. Sometimes a very traumatic event can make a person grow up
quickly.
By the end of their stories, Tendai and Nancy Lee both show courage, responsibility, and thinking of others before themselves. When adults try to put them down, they keep on going to the finish. Though the characters showed it in a different way, they both came of age at the end of their stories.
The character of Nancy Lee shows the growth of a person who experiences coming of age. When Nancy is going to get the 1st year of the scholarship free, she thinks about getting her mother a new coat with the leftover money from it. This is an example of her thinking of her mother instead of herself. Nancy shows courage after she is told she can’t get the scholarship. She doesn’t whine or complain but instead holds her head up high. Finally, Nancy shows responsibility when she decides that since she can’t get the scholarship she will stop this from ever happening to other girls like her,”I’ll fight to see that these things don’t happen to other girls as this has happened …show more content…
to me”(Langston). Just as Nancy Lee sees what the adults are doing is wrong, Tendai also experiences adults acting only for themselves and not caring for the child’s feeling or safety.
Tendai is a boy who has been sheltered all of his life and some wonder if he will ever be a man.
But away from the safety of his controlling father he grows into a man protecting his younger sister and brother. When the children are kidnapped Tendai is really afraid but he wants to make sure his little brother doesn’t get upset. Tendai shows that he is thinking of others more than himself when he “...tried to appear calm for Kuda’s sake” (53). Tendai shows courage when he is ready to fight even though he might die ”If the worst happens, you’re going to die... The important thing was to die for the right thing, and with dignity” ( 285) . When Tendai blows out the candles and he wishes for courage instead of wishing for something silly. He demonstrates taking responsibility for himself. Sometimes a very traumatic event can make a person grow up
quickly.
By the end of their stories, Tendai and Nancy Lee both show courage, responsibility, and thinking of others before themselves. When adults try to put them down, they keep on going to the finish. Though the characters showed it in a different way, they both came of age at the end of their stories.