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What is the importance of character development in literature
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Research
In my research I investigated the topic of maturity in literature. Maturity can be defined as ‘gaining knowledge from experiences that gives you a new out look on life and a new set of life skills.’ I choose this topic as I have studying short stories in class where the theme was coming of age and maturity. With these stories the protagonist goes through a negative experience and at the end of the experience they gain knowledge, which gives them a different out look on life, which could be defined as maturity.
The texts I choose were ‘The Flowers,’ by Alice Walker, ‘Ace of Diamonds Gang,’ by ‘Own Marshall,’ and ‘Lord of the Flies,’ by ‘William Golding.’ I choose these texts as they all followed the theme of maturity. They are all about young children under the ages of fourteen who go through a negative experience and come out with a more mature understanding of society. After picking my texts I analyzed them by extracting the key events the protagonist went through and what they learnt from the experience by answering three questions. My questions were, ‘What examples of immature behaviour does the protagonist exhibit before their coming of age experience,’ ‘What key event leads the protagonist to a more mature understanding of the world and ‘Is the protagonist better or worse off after their coming of age experience.’
What examples of immature behaviour does the protagonist exhibit before their coming of age experience?
Across all my text each protagonist exhibits immature behaviour. In the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ by Golding, a group of schoolboys are stuck on a deserted island with no adults as their plane crashed while being evacuated from England during World War 2. When these boys first arrive on the...
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...the narrators case the consequences that he faces are negative, which makes him worse off. Before hand he never got caught and therefore he never had to face the consequences, but now he sees that his actions have consequences making him worse off. In the last case in ‘Flies’ by Golding Jack the protagonist is better off. This is a change compared to the other texts. Jack is better after his coming of age experience as he now knows that for society to function properly it needs rules and order which Jack removed when he left Ralph’s tribe which had rules and order to create his own tribe which functioned on rituals and hunting. While Jack had his tribe he ordered the murder of Piggy the cleaver and clear thinking adviser to Ralph and the attempted murder of Ralph, which eventually lead to the boys being rescued. For Jack to get to the point of understanding
If you walk into a book store coming of age novels are everywhere to be found. Most of these novels focus on the times in our lives when we are most susceptible to trying new things and when we think we know everything. The teenage years are what no one wants to go back to yet we can’t stop reading about them. Some examples of these novels include ‘To kill a Mockingbird’, ‘The Outsiders’, and ‘Looking for Alibrandi’. These books focus on the ugly duckling stage of a swan’s life through to when they transform into a majestic swan. No book shows this better than the Peter Goldsworthy’s book Maestro.
How does one know that a person is maturing? Are there signs? What defines maturity? “A mature person assumes responsibility for his or her actions” (“Maturity”) but does that mean someone who cannot do that should not be considered mature? In The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, both Holden and Taylor go through a period in their lives where they start “putting aside ‘toys’ and fantasies...seeing the world as it really is” (“Maturity”). For Taylor, adulthood is thrust upon her when she “inherits” Turtle, while for Holden it takes till the end of the book--when he is with Phoebe--to realize.
Maturity is not a fickle expression such as happiness or frustration, but rather an inherent quality one gains over time, such as courage or integrity. Before maturity can be expressed, the one who expresses it must have significant confidence in himself, since self-confidence is the root of maturity. Being flexible and formulating one's own opinions or ideas are aspects of maturity, but neither is possible without self-confidence. The greatest aspect of maturity is the ability to make decisions which society does not agree with. Whether or not one follows through with these ideas is not important. What is important is the ability to make the decision. These decisions represent the greatest measure of maturity.
What is maturity? When does one mature? Maturity defined by a dictionary means “fully developed physically; fully grown,” but it also depends on the way one acts. Although one is grown up, it does not mean one acts poised and sophisticated as expected. After the Trojan War, the main character Odysseus is on a long journey to return to his home, Ithaca. The problem is the kingdom is overrun by suitors; his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, do their best to keep them out of the palace. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus transitions from being immature to mature as he is placed in Xenia,the Greek custom of hospitality for guests through encounters with Polyphemus, Circe, and Alcinous.
man, develop into an adult while dealing with the many crude actions and ways of
Growing up is one of the most important stages of human life. It is the part when humans reach maturity, become adults, and attain full growth. Also, it means one more thing. It means understanding more about the society. Harper Lee's, To Kill A Mocking Bird, shows the different ways of growing up. There are three characters who go through the process of growing up, Scout mentally grows up, Jem goes through a mental growing up that every adolescent will go through and aunt Alexandra also goes through a mental growing up.
Conclusion: The author Evan Hunter, of the story, “On The Sidewalk Bleeding” successfully demonstrates the theme of Coming of Age as he shifted his main character from an adolescent, idealistic view of the world to a more mature and realistic view. The character matured from making ignorant and selfish decisions to a more knowledgeable and selfless decisions. Andy came of age from a boy to a man, as he lay on the street bleeding to death. All in all these newly developed characteristics all prove the genre of coming of
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
Coming-of-age stories commonly record the transitions—sometimes abrupt, or even violent—from youth to maturity, from innocence to experience of its protagonist, whether male or female. Greasy Lake by T.Coraghessan Boyle and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates are great examples of traditional coming-of-age stories. The roots of the coming-of-age narrative theme are tracked in the male protagonist’s perspective for Boyle’s short story, while the Oates’ story captures the coming-of-age theme from Connie; a female protagonist’s perspective. In both short stories, the authors fulfill the expectations of a coming-of-age genre when they take us through the journey of rebellion and self realization, as the
The irony of the plane crashing to start the story, the environment of an unknown island and many other cruel acts function into the work as a whole because it really does set up the major plot in the story. Cruelty will bring out the worst in people and this phrase proves to be true when it comes to Jack. The killing of the pig and the obsession of blood lust drives Jack into savagery and reveals that he is not morally strong. The violence also shows that Jack is manipulative as he uses the fear of the beast to gain power. While cruelty transforms Jack, Ralph stays morally strong and represents civilization throughout the novel. Cruelty proves to shows that Ralph’s character is very intelligent as he is able to think deeply. Cruelty also reveals how strong morally he is and how he will not succumb to savagery like the majority of the boys do. Lord of the Flies by William Golding, just proves to show that the cruelness of our savage, beast like instincts will take over without the order, rule, and conduct that civilized societies have to
“The Joy Luck Club,” expresses the basic complications of the adult world from the pressure to make the most money, be the best at this, care for your family, and on top of that be the best spouse. In “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden fears the complications and complexities of the adult world and wants to stay a simple kid forever. It is his perception that adults lie, cheat, and steal, and they are all just “big phonies.” In “Huckleberry Finn,” we not only learn adults lie, cheat, and steal, we learn Huck knows more about the world then most of the adults even though he lacks guidance from his father or the community. In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” this same scenario can be found because young Scout develops deep perspectives on adult situations better than the adults.
As well, how this novel wrongly portrays the younger populations including their behaviours and interests by following stereotypes.
Contrasting Ralph and Jack in Lord of the Flies & nbsp;& nbsp; & nbsp; Ralph and Jack are both powerful and meaningful characters in William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. Ralph is an excellent leader; responsible, and stands for all that is good. Jack is a destructive hunter, selfish, and represents evil. These two main characters can be compared by the actions they take as leaders, their personalities, and what they symbolize in the story. & nbsp; Ralph first takes on the position as leader at the beginning of the story, when the rest of the boys vote him in as chief.&nbs Rules and standards are set when Ralph is the chief. He orders the group to build the basic necessities of civilization, shelters, and most importantly to keep the fire going, in hope that they will be rescued and return to humanity. " But I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (Golding 75). Jack, on the other hand, takes on the idea of every man for himself. He does not care about making homes, only about hunting. When Jack is the leader, evil takes over and all good is destroyed. Under Jack's power both Simon and Piggy are killed. & nbsp; Not only do the two character's decisions clash so do their personalities. Ralph is caring and considerate, being kinder to Piggy, making friends with him and constantly confid Ralph represents law, order, organized society and moral integrity. Throughout the novel he is constantly making common-sense rules for the boys to follow. Unlike Ralph, Jack is unkind, caring about no one
Maturity is commonly used word, but when asked what the word means many people simply shrug their shoulders. Maturity isn’t a word that has a clear definition. Being based primarily on one’s connotation, it doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. Personally I picked this word up through context. However, upon doing a careful study of where this word originates and other’s connotation’s, I feel I’ve achieved a relatively good understanding. Webster claims the word to mean “based on slow careful consideration,” but I feel there is much more to this word than that.
The transition from childhood to adulthood is an occurrence that everyone experiences in life. As children are placed in more complex situations that require them to think with new perspectives, they learn lessons, and lose some of their innocence. Overtime, the experiences amalgamate and complete the transformation to adulthood, and the process by which the transition happens is depicted in To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Although it is set in the late 1930’s, similarly to adolescents today, the characters are constantly adapting to new situations and becoming more mature. Children like Jem and Scout Finch grow from single-minded youngsters, to seasoned individuals that think with perspective, like their father. Through court-cases,