Essay On Coming Of Age In Literature

When referring to the phrase “coming of age” most are automatically drawn to the realization that this is the transition a child experiences in their progression from child to adult. Varying in cultures the coming of age transition could really symbolize a significant moment in their life. This can be celebrated through ritual ceremony, legal convention or a simple conversation between peer and adult. Now, the coming of age is often a topic of fiction, usually in the form of a coming-of-age story. In literature this is described as “a novel which deals with the psychological and moral growth which is often associated with coming of age”. Similar stories that are told in film are called coming-of-age films. This semester we’ve encountered many coming of age readings and we have figuratively looked through the minds of young girls who too went through the coming of age process. It was really …show more content…
Coincidently these are exactly the themes that have been discussed over the course of this semester. These stories all started with that of a young girl who by the end of the story finds herself enraptured in some adult world that she knew nothing about. Although, as a child you believe that growing up is a time where you find new self- established freedoms and you leave your childish past behind. This is really a vast step for a child. Children tend to become so adapt to depending on someone that it is often found to be difficult for one to leave that comfort so abruptly. It was particularly in Carters “The Bloody Chamber” where the heroine actually found herself becoming emotional over her newfound sense of maturity. “I sensed in myself a potentiality for corruption that took my breath away” here is where she noticed that no longer did she see herself as the young girl of the woman but she was the woman and that surprised