The years between six to fourteen is a time of important developmental advances that establish children’s sense of identity. Relationships with adults, children, friends, and family, plays a key role in building their identities. In the stories “Children of the Corn”, “Fair Trade”, “She Will Make Music Where-ever She Goes”and “Please Don’t Pass Me By” Shell’s observations of others around her leads her to imitate their lifestyle in order to develop her own identity, thus challenging the ideas of Bildungsroman.
One of the stories that we see Shell imitating other people lifestyle is in “Children of the Corn” where Shell talks about Corn flakes, the cereal that everyone eats. Shell states, “but Corn flakes are what other kids eat- Vicki sometimes, …show more content…
Shell no longer admires her own and prefers owning her own pair of Vicki’s boot skates.(Bozak 48). Since Shell copies and imitates people around her, there is this sense that Shell automatically considers owning a particular thing without questioning its effectiveness. Shell automatically considers other people’s things are better than her own. For example, when Shell states, “they’re not the right kind. When me and Vicki go to Bootin’, they’ll kick me out. Shell instantly convinces herself that she has to own these skates as …show more content…
Shell encounters children along the way and imitates them in order to develop her own identity. The implications of Shell’s imitations of others is that it challenges the concept of bildungsroman. Thirteen Shells can be read as a bildungsroman because it foregrounds the development of the individual as a unique and autonomous subject as the individual goes from childhood to adolescence. Although Thirteen Shells is tracing the development of Shell from childhood to adulthood, Shell does not fall under the category of “unique” or “autonomous”. The fact that Shell tries to find an identity by imitating or copying other people perhaps can be read as a challenge to the idea of the unique self that Bildungsroman tends to emphasize. Shell cannot be pictured as unique or an individual if she is imitating other individuals. Furthermore, considering she observes and imitates others shows her lack independence on oneself to create identity. Since Bildungsroman is concerned with the education and progress of its main character, Shell contradicts with that since she spends most of her time imitating and wanting to get or have what other children around
One of the stories that we see Shell imitating other people lifestyle is in “Children of the Corn” where Shell talks about Corn flakes, the cereal that everyone eats. Shell states, “but Corn flakes are what other kids eat- Vicki sometimes, …show more content…
Shell no longer admires her own and prefers owning her own pair of Vicki’s boot skates.(Bozak 48). Since Shell copies and imitates people around her, there is this sense that Shell automatically considers owning a particular thing without questioning its effectiveness. Shell automatically considers other people’s things are better than her own. For example, when Shell states, “they’re not the right kind. When me and Vicki go to Bootin’, they’ll kick me out. Shell instantly convinces herself that she has to own these skates as …show more content…
Shell encounters children along the way and imitates them in order to develop her own identity. The implications of Shell’s imitations of others is that it challenges the concept of bildungsroman. Thirteen Shells can be read as a bildungsroman because it foregrounds the development of the individual as a unique and autonomous subject as the individual goes from childhood to adolescence. Although Thirteen Shells is tracing the development of Shell from childhood to adulthood, Shell does not fall under the category of “unique” or “autonomous”. The fact that Shell tries to find an identity by imitating or copying other people perhaps can be read as a challenge to the idea of the unique self that Bildungsroman tends to emphasize. Shell cannot be pictured as unique or an individual if she is imitating other individuals. Furthermore, considering she observes and imitates others shows her lack independence on oneself to create identity. Since Bildungsroman is concerned with the education and progress of its main character, Shell contradicts with that since she spends most of her time imitating and wanting to get or have what other children around