Anticipated by children, often feared by their parents, growing up is a part of life that is completely unavoidable. The transition from childhood to adulthood is one that can take many forms, and happen over many different lengths of time depending on the person and their experiences. Often in order to come of age, one must take on responsibility or lose certain aspects of their childhood. Loss of innocence is a major theme in stories and literature throughout history, and continues to evolve based upon society's view of how someone who has "come of age" is defined.
In Homer's The Odyssey, the absence of his father Odysseus forces the responsibilities of upholding the household upon young Telemachus. After the war
…show more content…
ends, Telemachus goes on a journey to find his father, and during that journey comes of age. Before he leaves, Telemachus is unable to control his emotions. After speaking to the people of Ithaca, he breaks down emotionally, and is "[f]illed with anger, down on the ground. [He] dashed the speaker’s scepter- bursting into tears. Pity seized the assembly.” (Pg. 95 lines 86-8) His actions and uncontrollable emotions display his immaturity. When Telemachus returned, his experiences had changed him in a way that turned him into a man. He {insert quote about when Athena heard him and his speech was strong}. This is evidence that over the course of the Odyssey, Telemachus did become a man. However, what was considered a man in ancient Greece differs from what we perceive to be a man now. In the Odyssey, Odysseus himself displays the qualities of a perfect man. [insert descriptive quote here]. Telemachus lives up to these qualities, becoming a strong warrior, cunning, and brave. All qualities of honorable men at the time and place of Telemachus' coming of age. However, over time this notion of maturity evolves, and the definition of someone who has come of age drastically changes. In JD Salinger's' Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield comes of age over the course of the novel, but the final outcome of Holden's character is different than that of Telemachus.
Both undergo the transformation from a boy to a man, but this transformation is different for both due to the different definitions of a modern man during their respective time periods. Like Telemachus, before coming of age, Holden is unable to control his emotions. When he becomes angry with Stradlater, his roommate, he "got up from the bed. . . [and] tried to sock him, with all [his] might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open. (Page 26 Salinger) He acts similar to Telemachus here, because rather than handling the situation in a mature and non-extreme way, they both act like children. Both characters are similar before coming of age, however Holden's journey to maturity does not involve a great physical journey or strength. After Holden evidently comes of age, he brings his younger sibling Phoebe to the carousel and goes "up to the window where they sell the tickets and b[uys] old Phoebe a ticket. (Page 124)." Holden sits and watches his sister with all of the other parents, which is evidence that he has grown up. The difference of over a thousand years has clearly changed societies definition of someone who has come of age. For Holden this means gaining the ability to do everyday things considered adultlike in the mid-20th century, like managing money and being able to care for a child (Phoebe). This definition of someone who has "come of age" is clearly different than that of the 8th century definition which Telemachus was expected to live up to, but the same principles remain the
same. In Jhumpa Lahiri's The Treatment of Bibi Haldar, Bibi Haldar is the community child. Although soon to be 30, Bibi is still looked after by her community and only comes of age when she is forced to become self-sufficient. Written about 50 years after catcher in the rye, Bibi comes of age in a similar way to Holden. Before finding a husband, Bibi is referred to as "possess[ing] insufficient quantities of respect and self-control. (85)" These are the same qualities shared by Holden and Telemachus before losing their innocence. However, once she has come of age, her character and qualities are quite different. After being raped and impregnated, Bibi had the responsibility of being a self-reliant mother thrusted upon her. Before this, she needs others to care for her. Now "she raise[s] the boy and r[uns] a business in the storage room (89)" with no help. Her community no longer has to care for her because he is self-reliant, and can produce for her family by herself. Bibi, Holden, and Telemachus all started in the same place. Immature, and dependent on others. However, during their story, they matured and became what society defined "come of age." The reason they did not end up with the same qualities and abilities is because this definition has changed. The responsibilities of an ancient Greek man revolve around being strong, and a good warrior, like Telemachus became. For Holden and Bibi, they were considered mature when they were able to make money for themselves and provide for a child. Although these definitions have changed, the reason that Loss of innocence remains such a recognizable and important theme in many works of literature is because every character, and every author has experienced it themselves.
Throughout the novel Holden resembles characteristics of an adult. An example of Holden being an adult is staying in a hotel by himself, underage and often goes out to drink. He goes to clubs to drink his problems away. In the
Holden does experience a rite of passage that transforms him into an adult in this novel. In the beginning of the story, he believes all adults are phonies, and he himself is scared of growing up. However, after he goes to the museum, he realizes that he is strong enough to survive as an adult: “I mean I could’ve killed myself when I hit the floor, but all I did was land on my side. It was a funny thing, though. I felt better after I passed out. I really did” (Salinger 206). The fall that Holden experience is imperative to his transformation into an adult because he realizes how important life really is to him. Once Holden accepts adulthood, he discovers that most people are not truly phonies, and that he will be able to figure out life in his own way.
Throughout the last books of The Odyssey Homer tells us how Odysseus restores his relationships with his friends and relatives at Ithaca. Perhaps one of the most revealing of these restoration episodes is Odysseus' re-encounter with his son, Telemachus. This re-encounter serves three main purposes. First, it serves to portray Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of prudence, humility, patience, and planning. Secondly, it is Odysseus' chance to teach his son to be as great a ruler as Odysseus himself is. Lastly, Homer uses this re-encounter to emphasize the importance of a family structure to a society. To be able to understand the impact that this meeting had on Odysseus it is necessary to see that Telemachus has grown since his first appearances in the poem and obviously since his last contact with his father; Odysseus left Telemachus as an infant now their relationship is a man to man relationship rather than a man to child relationship.
good and got all the girls but in fact he was a slob. His razor that made him
The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his both literal and figurative journey home to Ithaka. When the great king, Odysseus travels to Troy on the account of war, many obstructions hinder him from returning home. During his absence, his deprivation of being a father to his son, Telemachus, causes great disappointment. Without a father, his son strives to grow and mature yet he has not the slightest idea of where to. However, as Telemachus struggles to reach manhood and his father struggles to return to Ithaka, their seemingly separate journeys are connected. They both learn values that turn a boy into a man and a great man even greater. In the epic poem the Odyssey, Homer uses parallel rites of passage with Odysseus and Telemachus to develop the importance of the father son-bond.
In the Odyssey, Telemachus, son of great hero Odysseus, who grows up in the world of greed and disrespect where the suitors take over his palace and court his mother, is one of the most significant character throughout the whole epic. His father, Odysseus, leaving the land Ithaca for 20 years, is the only warrior alive in Trojan war who hasn’t make his return home. During Telemachus’ expedition to search for the news of his father, he is under a process of maturation from the beginning in which he is mere a shadow of his father to the end in which he becomes more and more like him in terms of initiative, sensitivity and socialization.
‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, an epic Greek hero. It begins with telling of his venture to Troy, as he leads his army in the Trojan War, and of the separation he has experienced for twenty years from loved ones and his kingdom. However, the epic mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad. His son, Telemakhos, was greatly impacted by Odysseus’s absence as he had no father figure, and grew up in the shadows of all the palace-dwellers. During the novel, Telemakhos finally realizes that Ithaca needs a strong
If there were one word to tell what the theme of the book was it would be innocence. How we are all innocent at some point, how to try to keep our innocence, and how no one can keep their innocence forever. We all fall from our innocence. Adam and Eve fell from grace and innocence and set the tone for all of our lives. Throughout the whole book Holden is trying to make people keep their innocence and he wants to hold onto it himself. What he needs to learn and does learn through the course of the book is that no one can keep his or her innocence. We all fall at some point, but what we have control over is how hard we fall.
In the modern world, everyone must make the transition, no matter how scary or daunting it may be, into adulthood at some point in their lives. Most individuals are gradually exposed to more mature concepts, and over time, they begin to accept that they can no longer posses the blissful ignorance that they once had as a child. Others, however, are violently thrown from their otherwise pure and uncorrupted adolescent lives through a traumatic event that hurls them into adulthood before they are ready. The novel The Catcher on the Rye written by J.D. Salinger, explores the struggle children face to adapt to adult society through the main character Holden Caulfield, a teen that lost his innocence, and is still attempting to cope with the fact that everyone grows up.
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
The theme portrayed in this drawing is that while growing up, it becomes harder to hold onto innocence. In the novel Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is having difficulty making the transition from childhood into adulthood. Holden wants to act as a “catcher in the rye” in order to save children from falling into adulthood. He is forced into adulthood after the death of his brother Allie. He is shipped off to boarding school and, due to a lack of parental support, begins to lose faith in himself and others. Holden labels his peers who have successfully made the transition into adulthood as phonies, and isolates himself as a way to avoid furthering the transition. He also wants others to perceive him as older than he actually is such as
The way that Holden thinks and acts causes many conflicts to take place during the course of the novel. Because of the way he thinks, he doesn't relate to people of his own age leading to countless problems. Holden is especially different from women of his own age shown many times in the novel. He doesn't socialize much with women of his own age, so he doesn't know how to act when he does. Women, in the novel, are used to show how different Holden is from people of his own age. He can socialize and relate to his sister which is 7 years younger than him, as well as socialize with women that are 45 years older than him (nuns). But, when he is introduced into situations with women his own age, like at the ice skating event, he acts ver...
Innocence. Is it important to protect it? Is there a way to avoid losing it? As its title implies, the dominating theme of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is the protection of innocence, especially that of children. Continually implied by the presence of Allie’s spirit (Holden Caulfield’s younger brother who lost his life as a child). Holden is The Catcher in the Rye because he feels as if he needs to catch others that are jumping into maturity (death) of childhood to save them . This theme is displayed throughout the novel with the use of both symbolism and setting. The Catcher in the Rye presents the idea that the loss of innocence is a form of death. For many, growing up can feel like the death of one’s innocence without a doubt,
Not by a whole lot, but he does change. Holden goes to the zoo with Phoebe, “ “Do you want to take a walk down to the zoo?” “(208). There, his younger sister climbs atop a carousel. While on the carousel all the children try to grab for a gold ring, including Phoebe and she almost fell off. This is when Holden gets a smack in the face, and yet he doesn't even seem to realise it himself. He says that he didn't help his sister when she almost fell off because you have to let children grab the gold ring and if they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them. So possibly, Holden has realized that he doesn't need to be the Catcher in the Rye. Children should have to face their challenges themselves and enter adulthood with knowledge of struggles and pain. It might be too late for Holden himself but maybe the younger generation will do adulthood better than