Merry-Go-Round In The Sea - Radolph Stowe
In Randolph Stowe's novel, "MERRY-GO-ROUND IN THE SEA", the problems of adolescence and early adulthood are a primary focus. Many factors contribute to the complexity of these problems, the main issues being h effect war has on a growing boy and the loss of Rick's carefree attiude and innocence through the trauma he endured as a POW. Not only does Stowe concentrate on phychological changes within the main characters, but also the physical changes time influcts upon them. Stowe effectively includes these issues as part of the novel's cycle, which is represented by the symbol, the merry-go-round.As a small child, the war had a shattering effect on Rob, though in his naivety it was no obvious to himself. The general issues of growing up are hard enough for a child to cope with, let alone the added concern of war. The absence of Rob's father made the war situation considerably harder for him to cope with. Although he was never particularly close to him, Rob respected his father
Although the war had a shattering effect on the characters, it was the main contributor to the development of them, both mentally and physically. and regarded him a a gentleman "He did not think that there would be any more gentlemen after his father's time." Rob considered this lack of closeness between himself and his father to be the end of an era. Another important issue caused by the war is Rob's constant travel. His roots were constantly being uprooted as his mother dragged him from farm to farm. Due to th remoreness of these properties, Robmissed out on one of the most vital aspects of childhoos, constant friendship. From this independance, Rob learnt to be strong, but he also failed to see the importance of peers and what they could contribute to a problem. The main characters did not just develop psychologically, but also physically. However this change was not necessarily for the better. Rick returned from the war looking very similar to the way he did before he
Some common words found in the essay are:
POW Stowe, Rick Rick, MERRY-GO-ROUND SEA, Randolph Stowe's, rick returned, returned home, war shattering effect, war shattering, shattering effect, independance rob, main characters, rick's absence,
Approximate Word count = 662
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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