The Inner Development
Life is altered by three significant surroundings: personal relationships, culture and by ones inner thoughts. One creates individuality, however the shaping and formation of ones decisions is based are more then just an individuals thoughts. This can be seen. In the story, “Deep-Holes” by Alice Munro, the coming of age motif reveals itself in themes of emotional expressionism and presentation of the Iceberg theory. Alongside in the story “A&P” By John Updike a connection is found by overlooked symbolisms, but focus more on ethical values.
To begin, In Munro’s “Deep-holes “story she demonstrates the coming of age motif with expressionism. The theme in search for individuality is represented when Kent wants a taste
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of independence (Munro 4). He reflects not only on his life purpose, but also sees the world in a systematic manner. You can see this motif is made clear when Kent writes a letter to his family to share his claim: ” [A] person should expect to lock themselves in a suit of clothes […] we are given a chance to explore the whole world of inner and outer reality […] this way of expressing myself may seem over blown to you, but one thing I have learned to give up is intellectual pride fullness. (Munro 5) The theme gives a indication of inner and outer reality. The self-expressionism gives an insight of Kent’s own inner reality. Alice Munro uses Kent’s letter as a significant part of the story. Further along, traces of religious references of expressionism are scattered throughout the story Alice Munro uses Kent to express internal reality, which is projected to the outer world through means of expressionism. For Example, it crosses Kent’s mind to change his name to “Lazarus” but choses to name himself Jonah because the name Lazarus was: “too self-dramatizing” (Munro 9). Here you can see the connection made between the name Lazarus and a religious reference. Lazarus is a friend and follower of Jesus. Lazarus dies from an illness and Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead giving him life once again. Another example is when; Kent’s sister Sally notices a change in Kent’s clothing. He wears plain clothes; these clothes give Kent the appearance of being part of a religious order (Alice Munro 8). Kent’s inner reality is expressed in the outside, by the choices he makes. The way he dresses and the connection made with the name Lazarus. You can see the religious expressionism, in comparison to the resurrection of Lazarus that relates to adulthood. The rebirth of ones inner soul gives a new life, and new opportunities. Lastly, the inner thoughts and power of simplicity is celebrated with expressionism. Kent talks to Sally about his new life: his self-discovery; his spiritually explaining to her life has become easier his life does not consist of burdens held within him and “Since [he] realized this [he’s] been happier” (Munro 1). Alice Munro blends both a surface meaning and a deeper meaning, to the coming of age motif.
She uses phrases or statements that appear general, but she intends for them to have two meanings. For example, Kent says” I don’t usually try to get anywhere talking to people. I usually try to avoid personal relationship. I mean I do. I do avoid them” (Munro 10). Here is where you see the flaw in Kent’s new life and his effort in changing his old ways. For one a person could skim this line and have the thought Kent avoids personal relationships, or a person can acknowledge that Munro includes Kent correcting himself. Meaning after nine years Kent has made changes in his life, but he is still prone to express his old habits, Kent has evolved but his personal characteristics will remain he still fights temptation. Furthermore, memory plays a huge part in the transition from child to adult, especially remembrance of the relationships a person values the most. The ice burg theory is shown within the relationships Kent has with his family. Specifically, in the relationship between Kent and Alex his father, when Kent fell in a hole and was saved by his father, Kent praised Alex. However Alex says, “Christ, I’d have rescued anybody” (Munro 4). Kent takes his fathers words with him in his adult hood and unconsciously lives by his fathers message in his own form: “ We take anybody that comes in” (Munro 4). Critic Charles E. May explains, ”Munro alerts us to the social conditions that produce, if not wholly determine what we call madness” (May 82). To further explain, the present social conditions, predicts a person’s future knowledge and inner reality. However, with a further analysis Munro shows the Ice burg theory continuously through non-verbal interactions. Kent would try to impress his father; one of them being with school, but even when Kent focuses on hard science his father disregarded his action of taking school serious. Although nothing was mentioned in the story about
his fathers opinion, Munro makes the connection as to why Kent would say,”[G]ive up this intellectual pride fullness” (5) Munro shows these non-verbal actions and puts them into place with a future reaction. You can see Kent’s father did not have a care for his school. Kent unconsciously takes this into place when he says he is giving up his intellectually. Finally, with the coming of age motif a connection can be found in “A&P” by John Updike using symbolism. Updike uses bathing suits as symbolism for the transition of a women moving into women hood. Updike uses this at the beginning of his story; the narrator Sammy describes the three girls walking in their bikinis around the grocery store. Sammy notices the people’s judgment of abnormality. These girls in there bikini Symbolizes girls at a young age are look innocent; but when they are seen as women and making choices of their own they are looked like they have lost sense of direction. Furthermore, symbolism is found within characters throughout the story, similarly to Alice Munros story “deep-holes”. The store manger Lengels characteristics and position is used as symbolic to the coming of age motif. For example, when Lengel hears the narrator Sammy quit his job he says: “ You’ll feel this for the rest of your life” (Updike 5).John Updike uses this line to explain the defiance of social guidelines and the affects it can have on a person in the future. However, Sammy does not see it this way at the end of the story Sammy realizes the world will be hard on him from here on forward (Updike 5). The coming of age is shown through Sammy’s point of view; even when a person has very good intentions; social defiance doesn’t always appreciate or reward a person especially when they stand up for what one believes in. Munro takes advantage in the use of characters to symbolize as well. Updike also makes use of his setting to show symbolism of the coming of age. The grocery store and town is use to symbolize western Society. John Updike describes the image of social structure the shoppers as being sheep-like, the small town moving in a slow pace, and a standard life is lived by all (Updike2). Upsike takes advantage of his setting to further describe the surroundings of Sammy. The setting is significant to show why Sammy has a negative outlook on a society. These descriptions offer an in depth understanding for the action Sammy takes. Ultimately, Munro’s use of the coming of age motif is in contrast with Updike, both authors target the transition from childhood to adult hood using modernism fundamentals. However, they differ in the iceberg theory Munro uses expressionism to emphasis her characters inner reality, while Updike uses symbolism of: characters, and setting.
In his short story "A & P" John Updike utilizes a 19-year-old adolescent to show us how a boy gets one step closer to adulthood. Sammy, an A & P checkout clerk, talks to the reader with blunt first person observations setting the tone of the story from the outset. The setting of the story shows us Sammy's position in life and where he really wants to be. Through the characterization of Sammy, Updike employs a simple heroic gesture to teach us that actions have consequences and we are responsible for our own actions.
The story describes the protagonist who is coming of age as torn between the two worlds which he loves equally, represented by his mother and his father. He is now mature and is reflecting on his life and the difficulty of his childhood as a fisherman. Despite becoming a university professor and achieving his father’s dream, he feels lonely and regretful since, “No one waits at the base of the stairs and no boat rides restlessly in the waters of the pier” (MacLeod 261). Like his father, the narrator thinks about what his life could have been like if he had chosen another path. Now, with the wisdom and experience that comes from aging and the passing of time, he is trying to make sense of his own life and accept that he could not please everyone. The turmoil in his mind makes the narrator say, “I wished that the two things I loved so dearly did not exclude each other in a manner that was so blunt and too clear” (MacLeod 273). Once a decision is made, it is sometimes better to leave the past and focus on the present and future. The memories of the narrator’s family, the boat and the rural community in which he spent the beginning of his life made the narrator the person who he is today, but it is just a part of him, and should not consume his present.
At first read, John Updike's 'A & P' contrasts old and new; the old manager in his settled life conflicting with the new age of girls wearing bathing suits in buildings. All the while, the narrator stuck in the middle, finally deciding to join the side of new, or youth. Instead of old vs. new, an observation closer to the heart of the story is conflict between the worlds of the rich and the middle class. ?A & P? is the setting for one man to decide in which way he will seek to follow his life, standing on his own two feet and treating everyone as equals, or bowing before the wealthy, and searching for his own riches above all else.
The evolution Andy has from seeing things idealistically to realistically, the ignorance to knowledge transition and the selfless rather than selfish decisions all bind together to demonstrate a maturing development; this is an often-required aspect found in stories of the coming of age genre. Furthermore, this growth is a candid experience that all adolescence will undeniably face and gaining this maturity is something that one must develop; it does not come with age alone. All members of society will go through this change at some point in life. These maturing experiences are the unavoidable guarantee of entering
Stories about youth and the transition from that stage of life into adulthood form a very solidly populated segment of literature. In three such stories, John Updike’s “A & P,” Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” and James Joyce’s “Araby”, young men face their transitions into adulthood. Each of these boys faces a different element of youth that requires a fundamental shift in their attitudes. Sammy, in “A&P”, must make a moral decision about his associations with adult institutions that mistreat others. Dave, in “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” struggles with the idea that what defines a man is physical power. The narrator of “Araby,” struggles with the mistaken belief that the world can be easily categorized and kept within only one limited framework of thought. Each of these stories gives us a surprise ending, a view of ourselves as young people, and a confirmation that the fears of youth are but the foundation of our adulthood.
As people age, maturity and wisdom is gained through every experiences. From the time a child turns eighteen and becomes an adult, they are required to deal with the realities of the real world and learn how to handle its responsibilities. In John Updike's short story, "A&P", the protagonist Sammy, a young boy of nineteen, makes a drastic change to his life fueled by nothing more than his immaturity and desire to do what he wants and because of that, he has do deal with the consequences.
Authors’ use of setting and point of view greatly affect a narrative because they form the readers’ image of the story. First person narration can cause questioning of the narrators reliability, but this bias view can help create more intimacy between the protagonist and the reader. A third person point of view is more objective and allows the author to create the voice of the narrative; the author shapes the story. Through whichever point of view, the author develops a setting. Setting provides tone for the story. A well-established setting can enhance the story’s overall meaning. The combination of setting and point of view in John Updike’s “A&P” helps develop the story’s emphasis on conformity versus nonconformity. Likewise, setting and
It has been said of Anton Chekhov, the renown Russian short-story writer, that in all of his “work, there is never exactly a point. Rather we see into someone’s hear – in just a few pages, the curtain concealing these lives has been drawn back, revealing them in all their helplessness and rage and rancor.” Alice Munro, too, falls into this category. Many of her short-stories, such as “Royal Beatings” focus more on character revelation rather than plot.
In John Updike’s short story, A&P the writer takes you on a youths memory that involves the choices and consequences that life can deal to anyone who has not had time to test a rash decision. The narrator is an immature nineteen-year-old cashier who is about to make a giant leap from adolescence to manhood. Sammy narrates with opinions of not only his life, but also the people in the town. Sammy opposes with the way these people live their lives, and is determined to set a different course for his future. The author uses characterization, symbolism, and setting to explain Sammy's life issues such as decision-making, result of action, and responsibility. The story illustrates that part of growing up is about making choices and a willingness to accept consequences of one’s own choices.
Munro’s invention of an unnamed character symbolized the narrator’s lack of identity, compared to her younger brother, who was given the name Laird, which is a synonym for “Lord”. These names were given purposely by Munro to represent how at birth the male child was naturally considered superior to his sister.
Lewis Carroll's use of puns and riddles in Alice in Wonderland help set the theme and tone. He uses word play in the book to show a world of warped reality and massive confusion. He uses such play on words to reveal the underlying theme of growing up', but with such an unusual setting and ridiculous characters, there is need for some deep analyzing to show this theme. The book contains many examples of assonance and alliteration to add humor. Carroll also adds strange diction and extraordinary syntax to support the theme.
Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls” is a story about a girl that struggles against society’s ideas of how a girl should be, only to find her trapped in the ways of the world.
Many have compared life to a journey over the course of which, one experiences many tumultuous changes and transitions. On this journey, the human body continually undergoes a developmental pattern of physical, mental, and social modifications. Even in the realm of literature, fictional characters inevitably follow this fate. In literature, the stage between childhood innocence and adulthood transforms characters, this is frequently referred to as "coming of age". Because all humans experience this transition, it establishes "coming of age" as a timeless universal literary theme. Among such "coming of age" novels is Lewis Carroll’s tale about a seven-year-old Victorian girl named Alice. In the novel, "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland", Alice falls into the curious world of Wonderland. Alice assuages and manages inter-conflicts, such as her identity. Through the confusion, experimentation, and uncertainties of the Wonderland between childhood and adulthood Alice realizes in her unconscious state that she is changing from simple child into a young woman.
Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning and also the basis of education. Curiosity had killed the cat indeed, however the cat died nobly. Lives of Girls and Women is a novel written by Nobel Prize Literature winner, Alice Munro. This novel is about a young girl, Del Jordan, who lives on Flats Road, Ontario. The novel is divided into eight chapters; and each chapter refers to a new, unique event in Del's life. As an overall analysis of the book reveals that Del Jordan's intriguing curiosity has helped her throughout her life, and enabled her to gain further knowledge The character is often seen in scenarios where her attention is captivated, and through the process of learning she acquires information in order to her answers her questions about particular subjects. There are many examples in the book that discuss Del’s life, and how she managed to gain information, as well as learn different methods of learning along the way.
In Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls,” there is a time line in a young girl’s life when she leaves childhood and its freedoms behind to become a woman. The story depicts hardships in which the protagonist and her younger brother, Laird, experience in order to find their own rite of passage. The main character, who is nameless, faces difficulties and implications on her way to womanhood because of gender stereotyping. Initially, she tries to prevent her initiation into womanhood by resisting her parent’s efforts to make her more “lady-like”. The story ends with the girl socially positioned and accepted as a girl, which she accepts with some unease.