Literature's Depiction of Childhood

    In all of the short stories that we've read, childhood has been a huge theme.  Most of the stories described or presented the adolescents as innocent and naive.  It isn't a bad thing that the children are presented in that way, they're just kids so they can't really help it; they haven't had that much "life" experience yet.  Another common theme I noticed was that all of the characters were stuck in difficult and emotional situations.  Victor had to witness his parents and friends getting drunk and trying to wash their troubles away with alcohol, Cates observed his father flip out towards his mother and a guest (which might not be that much of a stranger at all...), and Connie, well Connie was about to be abducted and possibly murdered.
    There were also differences too.  One of the biggest ones was the characters in the story To Esme With Love and Squalor and the characters in the rest of the stories.  Maybe it was just me, but I didn't feel that this should be included in the packet.  They presented Esme as highly intelligent and snobby.  I guess Connie was kind of snobby too, but I hope you understand what I mean.  I just didn't really see this story as a "coming of age" lesson, it was just a story about a thirteen-year-old girl hitting on an American soldier.

   Some movies that demonstrate adolescents in an interesting way, if you couldn't have guessed from the background of my blog, are Disney movies.  One of the best "coming of age" Disney movies is Peter Pan.  The entire plot of this movie is about the decision between being a child forever or growing up.  At the beginning Wendy's father Mr. Darling tells Wendy that it is time for her to grow up and move out of the nursery, which she shares with her brothers John and Michael.  Soon after, Peter arrives and whisks the children off to Neverland where they are never allowed to grow up!  It's every child's dream!  After meeting the mermaids, learning about the "red-men", and fighting Captain Hook, the time comes for Wendy and the boys to go home.  This disturbed Peter a little because he couldn't understand why anyone would willingly grow up.
    What I had gotten out of this classic tale, was that girls naturally grow up faster, it's in their nature, where as boys tend to be more immature.  I mean, when you look at the main characters of Neverland, they're all male -- Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and even Captain Hook himself.  It's not a bad thing, but I just noticed how Wendy was a lot more motherly and refined compared to the others.  It is really a good story; I love it!