What Coming of the Age Means in the Construct of Narratives Literary, Essay Example

Introduction

The term “coming-of-the-age” is specifically defined by Millard as a form of indication that one has matured from the comforts of the provisions of his fatherly protection. The idea of coming of the age simply insists on one’s capability to maturing and functioning on his own. However, in the face of the American modern society, and the inflation of the number of families ending up broken due to parental divorce, fatherly assistance becomes an impossible source of comfort (15). For many children growing up in an urban society such as that of America and its major cities, the challenge of coming of the age becomes a trial and error process that they must explore themselves.

In the stories authored by Russel Banks [Rule of the Bone] and J.D. Salinger [The Catcher in the Rye], the idea of the struggle that children face when it comes to coming of the age in a modern society have been presented in two different aspects that specifically create a definition on what factors basically impact a person’s maturity and how the past or their familial arrangement affects their behavior in latter lives. Looking into the characters of Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye and Chappie from Rule of the Bone, the emergence of “coming of the age” in both individuals shall be better identified. Examining the ways by which they face the life that they have introduced into, the discussion that follows shall make a definitive course of identifying whether or not these characters actually incurred maturity in the process of their personal journeys into adulthood.

Identifying Familial Background

Holden Caulfield was remarkably defined by Banks as a young male who was most likely detached to his parents. Although his family was not introduced to be broken, it seems to follow the pattern of being dysfunctional especially with regards how the death of his brother personally affected him. The disillusion in the character of Holden creates an eerie attitude that makes him quite unlikeable in the plots and settings that he has been placed into. However, in the underlying background story of his life, it could be realized how his distant relationship with his parents caused him to tread in such a confusing journey.

Meanwhile, Chappie was identified to have been raised in a broken family while he lives with his mother and her live-in boyfriend Ken who apparently made sexual advances to the young child. Reaching his breaking point, he decides to run away and find his own life in the streets. Chappie, also identified as “bone”, is defined herein as a mischievous child who simply wants to enjoy a childhood that he never had. Nevertheless, the environment in which he has been placed in is not such a good society to make such growth inventive and well defined. Living in the streets with his friend Russ, he discovers so much about life, most often than not, the darker side of the society. Somehow, lack of parental assistance especially that of a fatherly image to support him caused him to tread in a path that leads to nowhere. The constant desire to find guidance has been his ultimate goal which at some point, he refuses to accept.

In a way, if observed closely, both characters underwent a stage of misguidance and treaded a path towards self destruction. Somehow, their misguided state has lead them to realizing that life is what they make it and that they need no one to support them. Being males, and perhaps even assumed to have an egoistic side to their attitude, both Chappie and Holden were not presented to have accepted their need or their desire for guidance. The life that they have lived in relationship with their families affected them so much, although they do not want to accept that fact as a part of their own process of growth. However, in every turn of each event, it could be observed how Holden tried to seek for constant advice from persons he admires, while Chappie’s attitude gradually changed as he met with the Jamaican I-man who served to be his personal mentor and inspiration in the latter part of the story.

At the Bridge of Change

Observing closely, it could be analyzed that each character from both stories specifically came to a point of denial, and then a stage of exploration, the stage of realization and then transformation. Take note that Holden used to have no particular path to take even when he was studying at school. He was living in the illusion that he need not go to school nor does he need to deal with his peers just so to be able to survive, he only needs himself to create a life that is best for him. This belief has lead him into a thought that if he did make it on his own, he could be a hero, the one he is supposed to be ‘the catcher in the rye’. This imaginative thought has provoked him to make decisions that later on lead to his exposition from class, the beginning of a journey that he knew would lead him into a more defined course of understanding himself. Letting go of his principles, Holden tries new things in New York. Hoping to find a good time, he found himself wandering nowhere instead and realizing that he needed someone to confide his thoughts with, which was likely responded to by the character of his younger sister.

On the other end, Chappie resorted to drug use friendship with his fellow peers in the street. Hoping to find the home he never had in the company of these young stowaways, Chappie instead realized that his life was going nowhere. In the process of drowning himself in the filthy course of living that he has known to be existing in the streets, he found himself emptier and was desiring more of the guidance [and probably the care] he has never known. The I-man, although he was not any kind of spiritual person, became the answer to that longing. Chappie’s change in attitude and perception in life has led him to create a new picture of success that he would like to follow, a life different from his own and a life that is different from what he was expected to live with as he stayed on the streets.

The Point of Coming of the Age

Finding a place to which one belongs to (Millard, 2007, 17); this is what satisfies an individual as he enjoins a society that knows and recognizes him as a person. Considerably, the dysfunctional family background of both Chappie and Holden has placed them in an uncanny position in the society since they themselves do not know where they actually belong. Being born to a family that does not give particular attention to their personal and their intellectual needs creates a sense of barricade for individuals like these characters to immediately find their way for self-identity. The congruent position from which Chappie and Holden came from and were practically treading their way towards realization specifically reflects the process by which young individuals today also try to define their struggles in life without the guidance of a father.

Without such assistance, young ones tend to assume that other members of the society would respond to that need. Having their own expectations, they drive themselves into an exploration that they have no idea where it is headed. Consistency in the process of finding a mentor is most often than not an impossible path for these youngsters to take. Bouncing off from one person to another and creating a chain of reaction between people they most likely want to depend upon becomes a repetitive pattern of finding such system of support. This fact could be obviously assessed from the experiences of Chappie and Holden as they search for people who would understand them along the process of finding themselves. The loss of an image to follow has lead a lot of young individuals into self-perish and self-destruction. Relatively, it could be analyzed that the capability of a person to with stand tests comes from the personal capacity to face the challenges as they come along [regardless of the background that they have come from].

Transformation in the being of both Holden and Chappie were remarkable turning points of their lives. While Holden did not properly have a well constructed mentor, the things he learned from talking with the people he most trusted along the way of his journey assisted him into realizing what he wants and what he really is ready to accomplish. This change in perception has them led him back to his old school and the decision to finish what he has basically started. On the other hand, Chappie’s strong connection with the I-man leads him to a realization that it is not yet too late for him to straighten out his path. His understanding of this fact specifically gave him the chance to change and be transformed into a better individual.

Conclusion

Humans tend to follow their mentors. This is the reason why parents are instantiated to create a form of system that would assure that their children would have something and someone to look up to for examples of good living. However, it is not all the time that parents are able to provide such motivation and inspiration to their children. During instances like this, it is expected that the external sources of inspiration would come to step into the picture. The society is a wide jungle of individuals who could make or break a person. In the case of Holden and Chappie, they both had the chance to meet both kinds of mentors. It is their choice to pick the ones who affected them positively that made the difference in the ways by which they decided to transform into better individuals.
True to its sense, the world is changing, and familial arrangements are also beginning to change. Sadly, the negative impact of divorce on children has increased the number of individuals growing up to have now self confidence at all. In a way, it could be realized that this is the reason why the society is supposed to take charge. Young individuals themselves need to take a stand as to what they really want to be, or what path they really want to follow. Noting the capacity of each person to decide on what is right and what is wrong, a young individual too has the capacity to think of what might be better for him and what might be not. It matters so much that a person takes a path of realization before any decision of transformation is embraced. Overall, Holden and Chappie did find a way to come out of their ages as they found comfort on the advice that other people have had to define their beings. Consequently, failure to do so among some other youths today who face the same dilemma caused them a lifetime of misery. True, there is a time for growth, and it is innate for humans to search for that satisfaction of maturity and realization of the self. In the hope of doing so, it is always helpful for one to stop thriving in the past and start facing the present in an aim of finding a better future for personal growth.

References

Millard, Kenneth. (2007). In the Name of the Father: Coming of the Age in Contemporary American Fiction.