Jesus Gutierrez Martinez Mrs. Anderson English 9B 26 April 2024. The Coming of Age Journey in "Solo" In the coming-of-age novel "Solo" by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess, the protagonist, Blade Morrison, embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery, familial reconciliation, and cultural exploration. Initially, Blade grapples with the complexities of his identity as the adopted son of former rock star, Rutherford Morrison. Throughout the narrative, Blade undergoes significant personal growth, transitioning from a disillusioned teenager burdened by resentment and uncertainty to a young man empowered by self-awareness and emotional maturity. Blade's journey is marked by his relentless pursuit of truth and belonging. Raised in the …show more content…
However, as the narrative unfolds, Blade demonstrates resilience and determination in confronting his past and embracing his roots. One pivotal moment in Blade's evolution occurs when he discovers the truth about his biological mother, Lucy. This revelation prompts Blade to embark on a journey to Ghana, Africa, where Lucy resides. Through his encounters with Lucy and the vibrant community of Konko, Blade begins to unravel the tangled threads of his identity. Immersed in the rich tapestry of Ghanaian culture, Blade finds solace and purpose, forging deep connections with the people he meets along the way. Blade's transformation is further catalyzed by his experiences in Konko, where he learns valuable lessons about love, loss, and resilience. His bond with Sia, a young orphan, serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of life and the enduring power of human connection. Through Sia's tragic passing, Blade confronts the harsh realities of mortality, ultimately emerging with a newfound sense of purpose and compassion. Moreover, Blade's journey is underscored by his artistic expression, particularly his passion for music. As he grapples with the trauma of his past and the uncertainty of his future, Blade finds solace in
Guitar Bains is one of the pivotal characters in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. As he ages throughout the novel, his character traits evolve--sometimes in unexpected ways. He begins as a watchful and passionate boy who understands the world around him better than most. However, as he ages, he finds that he seems to be among the minority of people who care about the social plight of African Americans. Throughout the book, he grows more and more radical, until his passion escalates to the point that he starts killing innocent people in order to keep the status quo. Despite a promising start, Guitar’s moral journey leads him to a fate as a misguided but well-meaning and self-justified killer.
The coming of age novels, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, and A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, both interpret the lives of adolescent boys journeying through their conflicts and inner confusion to reach the level of maturity. Salinger and Knowles both discern the literal ways a typical teenager grows up with the help of literary elements such as plot, setting, character development, conflicts, irony, symobolism, theme, and point of view.
The novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles describes the life highschool life of Gene Forrester through the flashbacks he experienced 15 years after his graduation. Throughout the novel Knowles takes us on a journey that revolves around Gene and his friend Finny as they go through their years in a private high school. While reading the novel one can see that Gene takes his hero journey during his highschool time as he makes the choices that will dictate not only his hero journey but his entire life.
The idea of complete independence and indifference to the surrounding world, symbolized by flying, stands as a prominent concept throughout Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon. However, the main character Milkman feels that this freedom lies beyond his reach; he cannot escape the demands of his family and feel fulfilled at the same time. As Milkman's best friend Guitar says through the novel, "Everybody wants a black man's life," a statement Milkman easily relates to while seeking escape from his sheltered life at home. Although none of the characters in the story successfully take control of Milkman's life and future, many make aggressive attempts to do so including his best friend Guitar who, ironically, sympathizes with Milkman's situation, his frustrated cousin Hagar, and most markedly his father, Macon Dead.
Have you ever been transported in time and space? The book, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, transports you to the nineteen thirties in the Deep South. In this book cotton fields fill the landscape and the tension of being an African American family I the south fills every page. The author, Mildred D. Taylor, tells the story of Cassie Logan, a young girl and her family. The character, Mr. L. T. Morrison, was a co-worker of Cassie’s father, David, and later worked for him. Over time, he became a part of the Logan family. Mr. L. T. Morrison is an admirable character in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, because he helps defend the family, he is hard on the outside but soft on the inside, and is a strong man.
The novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is the coming of age story of Gene Forrester. This novel is a flashback to the year 1943, when Gene is attending Devon School during his senior year and the summer before it. "Gene's youth and inexperience make him ill-equipped to deal with situations that require maturity" (Overview: A Separate Peace 2). However, Gene is a follower of Finny and therefore gains experiences that provoke his development into adulthood. Some of these experiences include: breaking Finny's leg, training for the 1944 Olympics, and killing Finny. Through these three experiences Gene is forced to grow out of his childish-self and become a man.
Life is difficult especially for a teenager as they try to discover themselves. To make this journey of self-discovery alone is especially difficult. Support systems offer guidance and comfort along the way. The primary support system are parents. They begin the preparations for a child to take his place in society. Religion offers moral guidance. Friends offer positive self-esteem and encouragement. In the book, the Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, has none of these support systems. He lives in a form of isolation from his parents, religion, and friends.
People that behaive good and look up to there parents it dosent means it will always be like that people change in some points.The novel The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon is a novel that talks about a 13 year old whos father is a civil rights activist in the midle of the the novel he starts to gain intrest in a group called the Black Panthers.The protagonist of The Rock and the River,Sam,becomes more mature over the course of the novel his perspective of the world shifts after using a gun at the peaceful demonstration and Stick’s death by the police officer.
In Song of Solomon Toni Morrison tells a story of one black man's journey toward an understanding of his own identity and his African American roots. This black man, Macon "Milkman" Dead III, transforms throughout the novel from a naïve, egocentric, young man to a self-assured adult with an understanding of the importance of morals and family values. Milkman is born into the burdens of the materialistic values of his father and the weight of a racist society. Over the course of his journey into his family's past he discovers his family's values and ancestry, rids himself of the weight of his father's expectations and society's limitations, and literally learns to fly.
In Morrison’s novel there is a lot of symbolism with in her characters especially one of the main characters Milkman. While milkman is technically an adult because of his age he retains a childlike persona due to his vanity, fear of responsibility, and his childhood friends. Milkman’s hesitance towards becoming an adult at the onset of this novel changes, through his quest for gold. He matured to an adult that takes responsibility, tries even when he knows that he will fail and surrenders his vanity.
It can be said that Song of Solomon is bildungsroman which is defined by The Encyclopedia Britannica as “a class of novel that deals with the [coming-of-age or] formative years of an individual”. Furthermore, in a bildungsroman, a main protagonist usually undergoes some transformation after seeking truth or philosophical enlightenment. In Morrison’s novel, the plot follows the main protagonist Milkman as he matures within his community while developing relationships with others and discovering his individual identity. In an essay titled Call and Response, Marilyn Sanders Mobley notes that “What Song of Solomon does ultimately is suggest that a viable sense of African American identity comes from responding to alternative constructions of self and community other that those received from mainstream American culture” (Smith 42). This viewpoint of discovering one’s identity in community is expressed in Song of Solomon and is expressed in other African-American literature including The Autobiography of Malcolm X, A Raisin in the Sun and The Tropics in New York. Milkman’s development of an individual identity which ultimately eschews mainstream American ideals of wealth, prosperity, and Western culture exemplifies a fundamental theme that is analogous to a predicament African-Americans encounter.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sister. Alexie touches upon issues of identity, otherness, alcoholism, death, and poverty in order to stay true to his characters and the cultures within the story. Through the identification of the role of the self, identity, and social behavior within the book, the reader can understand Arnold’s story to a greater depth.
He goes through the struggles of deciding who he wants to be and who he is. He lived on a reservation with his family and attended the school there. He decided one day the only way he would go anywhere in life was if he were to attend Reardan, an all-white school. Here, Junior was forced to find who he really was. Junior experienced more struggles and tragedies than any white student at this school. He had to fight through the isolation he first experienced to building up the courage to play in a basketball championship. I believe that every event Junior wrote about throughout the novel had an important purpose, and even more importantly, could be related to sociology. As I read the novel, I constantly thought about questions such as the following: What importance does he have to write about this? Could I relate this to my life? Who is Alexie’s audience? Could anyone read this novel and learn something from it? By the time I completed the novel, I could answer all of these questions without a
Morrison shows readers a side of American History rarely seen. She shows the deepness of prejudice and how many different ways it has effected people. While she does this she also tells a story of soul searching, Milkman tries to find himself among many people who are confused and ate up by hate and prejudice. In the end, he is able to find who he is and where he stands on all of the issues that are going on around him. When he gets this understanding Milkman retrieves, and achieves his childhood dream of flying.
...es, if one will sit back and evaluate they will find the true meaning of self-identity, beyond ones name, hobbies, or careers. The narrator took his journey of self-awareness and found his identity. In the novel Fight Club, the narrator discovers the truth about himself and his true identity. The path of self-discovery leads our narrator on a dangerous path. Where will your path lead you?