Becoming an Adult
Adulthood is the time in which a person becomes intellectually, emotionally, and physically capable of living life. It takes a lot of practice to grow up, and one may make many mistakes and face many consequences before he or she becomes an adult. “To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age”, by Samuel Johnson and “When I Was One-and-Twenty”, by A.E. Housman are both poems about a twenty one year old coming of age. Johnson describes the coming of age by using a twenty year old man who has faced himself in a money situation and how he handles it, whereas Housman describes the coming of age by using a twenty-two year old man reflecting his past year as a twenty-one year old in a love situation and how it has affected his adulthood. In these poems, …show more content…
Both authors convey the message that at a young age, people must learn the responsibilities of being an adult by listening to their elders, or else they will face consequences.
In the poem “To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age” Johnson uses point of view and tone to convey that as someone grows up, they should listen to their elders. Johnson uses second person point of view to tell Sir John Lade how he should become an adult. The authors tells Sir John Lade, “You can hang or drown at last”(Johnson, 28). By telling Sir John Lade to do this, Johnson shows that it is important to listen to your elders, and do as they say. By using second person point of view, the Johnson shows that it is one's choice to listen to one's elders, but there will be consequences if one does not listen to them. Johnson relays his message of coming of age through a sarcastic tone. Using understatement to emphasize the importance of growing up Johnson says, “What are acres? What are houses? Only dirt, or wet, or dry”(Johnson, 23-24). Johnson gets the point across to Sir John Lade that becoming an adult is serious. Usually young adults do not take
Adulthood is the time in which a person becomes intellectually, emotionally, and physically capable of living life. It takes a lot of practice to grow up, and one may make many mistakes and face many consequences before he or she becomes an adult. “To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age”, by Samuel Johnson and “When I Was One-and-Twenty”, by A.E. Housman are both poems about a twenty one year old coming of age. Johnson describes the coming of age by using a twenty year old man who has faced himself in a money situation and how he handles it, whereas Housman describes the coming of age by using a twenty-two year old man reflecting his past year as a twenty-one year old in a love situation and how it has affected his adulthood. In these poems, …show more content…
Both authors convey the message that at a young age, people must learn the responsibilities of being an adult by listening to their elders, or else they will face consequences.
In the poem “To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age” Johnson uses point of view and tone to convey that as someone grows up, they should listen to their elders. Johnson uses second person point of view to tell Sir John Lade how he should become an adult. The authors tells Sir John Lade, “You can hang or drown at last”(Johnson, 28). By telling Sir John Lade to do this, Johnson shows that it is important to listen to your elders, and do as they say. By using second person point of view, the Johnson shows that it is one's choice to listen to one's elders, but there will be consequences if one does not listen to them. Johnson relays his message of coming of age through a sarcastic tone. Using understatement to emphasize the importance of growing up Johnson says, “What are acres? What are houses? Only dirt, or wet, or dry”(Johnson, 23-24). Johnson gets the point across to Sir John Lade that becoming an adult is serious. Usually young adults do not take