Mysteries of Manhood
Coming of age is something that all of humanity has complete, whether every individual makes this happen is up in the air. In the book,The First Part Last, Angela Johnson describes a young teenage boy named Bobby and how he had to change his life completely in order to fit the description of being a man, and this is shown through symbolism. Being a man is not about how much weight you put on a bar and squat or bench it or how someone never backs down from a challenge. Bobby accomplishes being a man in different ways and by the end of the novel, he fulfills the respectable requirements of becoming a man.
The action of tearing the adoption papers when Nia was in a vegetative coma was the initial first step that Bobby was on …show more content…
The simple being of taking care of Feather the way Bobby did, proves to me that Bobby is a man and always will be. Bobby throughout the book continually kept getting more attached to Feather like she was a part of him and in many ways she was. An illustration of this would be that Bobby says, "I know something about this little thing that is my baby."(Johnson 15). Even at this early point in the game of the book Bobby obviously is learning how important Feather really is to him and how he made the right decision by keeping her. This is proven by him, saying throughout the book about how Feather looks like Nia and therefore Feather will always be that remembrance of Nia for Bobby. Not only did Feather make Bobby a man, she taught him what it is really like to come of age. He learned how to take care of an infant mostly by himself at such young age that either he became of age and accepted the responsibility of what it is like to be a
parent or instead Bobby does not and he fails in every aspect of being a man or coming of age because he was not willing or ready.
Becoming a man is not about if somebody can lift a certain amount or weight or
Coming of age is something that all of humanity has complete, whether every individual makes this happen is up in the air. In the book,The First Part Last, Angela Johnson describes a young teenage boy named Bobby and how he had to change his life completely in order to fit the description of being a man, and this is shown through symbolism. Being a man is not about how much weight you put on a bar and squat or bench it or how someone never backs down from a challenge. Bobby accomplishes being a man in different ways and by the end of the novel, he fulfills the respectable requirements of becoming a man.
The action of tearing the adoption papers when Nia was in a vegetative coma was the initial first step that Bobby was on …show more content…
The simple being of taking care of Feather the way Bobby did, proves to me that Bobby is a man and always will be. Bobby throughout the book continually kept getting more attached to Feather like she was a part of him and in many ways she was. An illustration of this would be that Bobby says, "I know something about this little thing that is my baby."(Johnson 15). Even at this early point in the game of the book Bobby obviously is learning how important Feather really is to him and how he made the right decision by keeping her. This is proven by him, saying throughout the book about how Feather looks like Nia and therefore Feather will always be that remembrance of Nia for Bobby. Not only did Feather make Bobby a man, she taught him what it is really like to come of age. He learned how to take care of an infant mostly by himself at such young age that either he became of age and accepted the responsibility of what it is like to be a
parent or instead Bobby does not and he fails in every aspect of being a man or coming of age because he was not willing or ready.
Becoming a man is not about if somebody can lift a certain amount or weight or