Coming Of Age Story 11

In “Eleven” a coming-of-age story the reader can notice struggles and changes that Rachel faces in her eleventh birthday. In “Eleven” Rachel experiences the transition from childhood to adulthood in different positions in the story, and it is formed in how she deals with the red sweater. The progression in Rachel can be explained in different ways based on her reactions on the red sweater. In the beginning of the story Rachel wakes up on her eleventh birthday feels as if she is still ten—and nine, and eight, and all the ages that came before put together “like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk,” this complex thinking of the age implies Rachel's maturity. Nevertheless, Rachel states “I wish I was one hundred and two instead of

For example, Rachel cannot find the words to explain convincingly to Mrs. Price that the sweater is not hers. Moreover, Mrs. Price represents the arena of authority, the one who makes the rules and Rachel the one who obeys. Mrs. Price demands that Rachel put on the sweater and Rachel obeys. And she acts insensitive towards Rachel, she does not notice or care that Rachel is upset, she does not think about why Rachel would tell her the sweater does not belong to her, and she does not apologize for her mistake: “only Mrs. Price pretends like everything's okay.” At the close of the story, the title “Eleven” presents two points of view, the mature “I” and the immature “I”. While the reader expects to read a happy story full of presents and joy, he reads a story where the birthday turns to a gloomy day. In the beginning of the story Rachel discusses what it is like to be eleven with the reader in a sophisticated way, but through the story, her childish behavior starts to appear. Rachel wishes to be one hundred and two because then she would have known what to tell Mrs. Price. Rachel thinks that the older you are, the stronger you