COMING OF AGE

A detailed Summary of COMING OF AGE

Coming of age is a time of trials and triumphs in a young adolescent’s life. It involves many obstacles that need to be over come in order to become an adult. However obstacles are not the only things that a youth will encounter. Through the journey they will happen upon successes and triumphs that will add to the shaping of who they are to become. One can easily assume that the events taking place in the world would have a strong influence on how a youth comes of age. It is easy to assume that the coming of age in the 1920s would be different from coming of age in the 1980s. Both the 1920s and the 1980s were times of radical change for our nation. How people viewed the world was forever changed due to the events taking place. One would think that these changes would have a major impact on the concept of coming of age during these times. However, coming of age during the two decades was extremely similar. The psychological changes that take place when a young a!

dult comes 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

“Judy Blume (Cover Story)”. People 28 Dec 1999. 2000 Ebscohost. 22 Feb 2000 Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. New York: Doubleday, 1957.

These two situations from the novels display that in both decades teenagers tried to create a “perfect” place or thing that would enable them to achieve true happiness; an escape of their problems. This safe haven theory is yet another similarity that contributes to the similarities of the coming of age in the 1920s and the 1980s.

Jenkins, Alan. The Twenties. Norwich: Jarrold and Sons Limited, 1974.

Victoria Leonard’s first disappointment deals with learning that every family has skeletons in their closet. When Victoria and Caitlin arrive at Martha’s Vineyard, Lamb, Caitlin’s father, introduces them to his fiancee, Abby. Caitlin throws a temper tantrum and storms up to her room. Seeing Caitlin’s reaction to Abby makes Victoria remember her own family, back at home and all of their problems. At this moment she realizes that Caitlin does not have the perfect life. This is a major disappointment because Victoria had thought she was spending the summer with the “perfect” family, when in reality, she was spending the summer with a family with problems more complex than hers. Her whole ideology about her family and Caitlin’s family changes during the very first summer. At the end of the summer, she realizes how much she loves her real family and that she would rather have a “flawed” family over a “perfect”!

Blume, Judy. Summer Sisters. New York: Delacorte Press, 1993.

In Summer Sisters Victoria has a similar experience. The only difference is that her coming of age process is spread over a longer period of time. As the two girls grow older, they grow further apart. Victoria goes to college and Caitlin chooses to travel around the world. Caitlin basically loses touch with Victoria and she is not present when Victoria goes through tough times in her life. Victoria makes a vow to herself that if and when she sees Caitlin again, her friendship can never be the same with her since she left during some of the most trying times in Victoria’s life. However, when Caitlin does eventually return, Victoria breaks out of the “cage” and forgives Caitlin for losing touch with her (Blume 347). In the end, Victoria comes out of the whole situation stronger because she realizes that even though Caitlin had not been there for her physically and emotionally, she still had Caitlin’s advice that she learned from her during the su!

The decade of the 1920s is often described as being “funny, sad, often heroic”(Time Life Books, 24). In many history books, the 20’s have been referred to as “roaring,” however for most people this time period was somewhat dull (Time Life Books, 76). A majority of citizens worked in fields, factories, or non-airconditioned offices. To the masses, major events that took place were looked upon as a newspaper article. Meaning that they did not get to experience what was being publicized. Only a few select groups had the luxury of living the “Hollywood” life. The nation in the 1920s was considered to be “self conscious and unsure of itself, suspended between the innocence of a child and the wisdom of maturity.”

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Approximate Word count = 3863
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)

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