"The glory of the nation rests in the character of her men.

Thus every boy is a challenge to his elders." Herbert Hoover

Obtaining rite of passage can take place anywhere from childhood upward into the twenties or even thirties, but is most commonly under-taken in the late teen years. In the short stories "A&P" by John Updike, and "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner, the elements of inflexible social systems, adult rules and authority illustrates how a couple of young men make their mark on society by going against the grain in order to earn their rite of passage.

Updike's story takes place in a grocery store located in the center of a very conservative New England community. Much like the small town, the A&P grocery store observes inflexible social systems such as "proper" shopping etiquette and "appropriate" dress code. The "normal" customers, "houseslaves" and "sheep" as referred to by Sammy, balk at the audacity of the young girls' total disregard for "proper" dress code and "normal" traffic flow of the aisles. Sammy, on the other hand, is enamored by the young girls and sees nothing wrong with their clothes, even though he understands their cho

Faulkner's story takes place in early 20th century deep south. The Snopes are forced to move constantly due to Abner's refusal to cooperate with society. In effect, Abner has isolated his family and enforces their obedient following by enacting strict discipline and expects them to carry out his every wish and demand. At the first sign of incompliance Abner is quick to lend a stiff hand of correction to the "faulting" family member. Unfortunately, the only family member that falls into this category is the ten year old Sarty.

Sarty desperately wants to please his father; however he finds himself in a quandary between doing what he believes is morally correct and his perceived obligation to be loyal to his father. In the trial against his father for the burned barn, Sarty is faced with choosing loyalty to his father or telling the truth as he believes. Sarty's thoughts during the trial are reflected "our enemy he thought in that despair; ourn! Mine and hisn both! He's my father!"[sic] Abner has obviously "prepared" his son before the trial. Sarty is struggling to convince himself that his father's side is right. However, at this point, he decides to side with his father even though he sees the wrong in doing so. "He aims for me to lie....[a]nd I will have to do hit."[sic] Sarty can't go against his father and face the apparent wrath that will follow. After the trial and half way through another move, Abner has a talk with his son and states "You were fixing to tell them. You would have told him." "Your getting to be a man. You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain't

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)