'Coming Of Age In John Knowles A Separate Peace'

A coming of age novel is one that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from a young age to adulthood. As a result, they are often set in the past. In some ways, coming of age novels are similar to rite of passage novels, because they both portray a progression and a new ability to accomplish something that the protagonist couldn’t before. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is a novel that focuses on young boys who live in a very nice community and they make dumb mistakes just like young boys do, but eventually go to war. The portrayal of the boys maturing eventually leads to their coming of age so that they can ideally be proper soldiers and participate in the war. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, follows sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield and his journey through the ages where he thinks that he knows everything and everyone telling him otherwise is stupid. However, by the end of the novel, Holden has come of the age that he realizes that he was trying to grow up too quickly, after doing a lot of things that the general population would strongly advise against. Candide, by Voltaire, follows the story of a young boy named Candide who embarks on a journey that only the most creative and satirical readers might …show more content…
They face war, a realization after high school, and limitations that are both mental and physical. Most importantly, there are no parents around to help them through their issues anymore, they are men and have to learn how to deal with their own problems, coming of age, if you will. The Catcher in the Rye is told from the view of Holden Caulfield in a psych ward that he finds himself in after the preluding story. Which in itself informs the reader that he did some growing up. However, this story, again, portrays coming of age in a different way than the others, through a young boy’s