omes of age remained the same, despite the differences between the two decades. Ray Bradbury and Judy Blume both concentrated on the 'coming of age' in the 1920s and the 1920s. Through their novels the fact that coming of age during the two decades was e

The realization that takes place in Douglas' life is much more "life as a whole" oriented than Victoria's. Her realization about life is more sexually oriented. While at the vineyard, the two girls discover their "Power." It is a special feeling that the two girls experience while thinking about boys or by touching themselves (Blume 33). With this "Power" they realize that they are officially women; they have absolute control over men and they could now make themselves feel sexually aroused. This is considered a rite of passage for young adolescent women. Douglas's realization of being alive and Victoria's sexual realization are similar. In both realizations, they begin to see that they are alive and maturing in some way. As one can see, the two protagonists live in two different decades yet are experiencing the same psychological aspects of the coming of age process.

Due to available technology, people began to do what was considered impossible. Dreams were now becoming realities. For example, Charles Lindbergh flew the first transatlantic flight and Amelia Earhart also became the first woman to complete a transatlantic flight. In addition, areas of the unexplored world were now explored. For instance, the South Pole expedition was in the planning stage. The significance of this is that none of the poles had ever been visited before. On a darker note, the electric chair was now being used as a form of capital punishment for Death Row inmates.

Not only do Douglas and Victoria experience change, but they also make an important realization during their coming of age process. According to psychologists, coming of age takes place when levels of moral development become more advanced and when thought processes become more abstract. Douglas and Victoria both experience these types of psychological changes. In the beginning of Dandelion Wine, Douglas comes to a major realization about his life. During a normal wrestling match with his younger brother he has a revelation that he is alive. A result of Douglas realizing that he is alive is that he feels that he should save every event in his life by storing it away in the basement as a bottle of dandelion wine. Each bottle represents something different: Pain, pride, disappointments and happiness are all represented.

Many similarities between the times, such as the economy, increasing divorce rates, and new technology, made coming of age similar in the 1920s and the 1980s. Along with these factors, came the psychological aspects of people, which did not change between the two decades. For example, the "shocks of life" never changed. The "shocks of life " include being born, growing up, growing old, and dying" (Bradbury, 35). In the 1920s and the 1980s it was 'survival of the fittest', "each person was to himself one alone. One oneness, a unit in society, but always afraid (Bradbury, 42)." In both decades the people that would survive and succeed were the ones that were willing to step on other people's toes and have a set goal in mind.

Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. New York: Doubleday, 1957.

Coming of age is described by G. Stanley Hall as "being a fully-grown animal in a cage, an animal who sees freedom but doesn't know quite when freedom will occur or how to handle it" (Gleitman 222). A good example of Douglas not knowing how to handle coming of age is when he has his mental breakdown at the end of the summer. Overall, Douglas' summer does not turn out as planned. It has not been as spectacular as he planned: instead it is a summer of one disappointment after another. The summer of disappointments, like the heat, eventually catches up to Douglas (Bradbury 211-217). However, he snaps out of it when Jonas the junk collector comes around with a cure: "Green Dusk for Dreaming Brand Pure Northern Air". The main ingredient of this concoction is Jonas' words when he tells Doug to remember while drinking this air, that "it was bottled by a frie

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3865
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)