From Childhood to Adulthood in The Taste of Melon by Borden Deal

1122 Words3 Pages

In everyone’s life, there comes a time where they have to make their own decisions. In Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat tells Alice, the protagonist: “that depends…on where [she] want to get to” when Alice asks: “where way [she] ought to go” (Carroll 62). Alice learns about growing up and making decisions that impact her future throughout the story, similar to the central character in “The Taste of Melon” by Borden Deal. The protagonist initially undergoes a journey from doing unrealistic tasks to someone who thinks critically before they act. The main character begins to have a realistic outlook on the world after he steals Mr. Wills’ seed melon with the thought that crime is widely accepted. The protagonist also becomes more knowledgeable in his dealings with the world when he attempts to repair his relationship with his neighbour after making an ignorant decision. As children grow up they become more aware of others, which the protagonist realizes in “The Taste of Melon” after he steals Mr. Wills’ prized melon intended for seeds. In “The Taste of Melon”, the protagonist experiences a difficult transition from childhood to adulthood.

As the protagonist becomes more aware of the world as he grows up, he changes his idealistic view on theft from a harmless activity to an activity that causes physical and emotion harm for himself and others. As the protagonist is swimming with his friends, he contemplates taking Mr. Wills’ melon. The protagonist thinks about what his actions might cause but eventually he justifies his theft by saying “it [was not] considered stealing to sneak into a man’s melon patch” and continues to say a loss of melons is expected (Deal 131). The protagonist perc...

... middle of paper ...

....

In “The Taste of Melon” the protagonist experiences a transition from childhood to adulthood while learning many valuable lessons. The protagonist thinking evolves from an idealistic mindset to a realistic mind as demonstrated by his views on theft. The transition from ignorance to knowledge is undertaken by the protagonist as he mends his relationship with Mr. Wills. The protagonist begins to focus on others as he offers Mr. Wills the remaining seeds that he could find after stealing the prized melon. Coming of age is a topic that is often experienced by characters in many short stories, thus making it a popular theme.

Works Cited

Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. London: Acturus Publishing, 2008. Print.

Deal, Borden. "The Taste of Melon." Sightlines 9. Ed. Barlow-Kedves, Alice, et al. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1999. 130. Print.

Open Document