Coming of Age--3 Novels

There were so many many common themes surrounding the three books, To Kill a Mockingbird, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and Blankets.  I think the theme most prevalent was Coming of Age.

First of all, all three main characters in these books started out with one point of view, and grew into a more mature, changed view point over time.  All of them discover the harsh truths of the world around them.  In the beginning, Scout simply believes what adults tell her because that is how children are raised, to just accept what they are told as correct by the authority.  But as she grows and the book continues, she learns that not all adults are right all of the time, and that everyone has vulnerabilties, regardless of age.  Her dad teaches her this when he tells her that he couldn't forgive himself for refusing to defend Tom Robinson not only as a citizen, but as a parent, he couldn't have the pride in himself to teach Scout and Jem right and wrong because he would just be being a hypocrite.  Through Atticus, Scout learns the meaning of right and wrong, and why people's actions should always reflect upon their beliefs.  Scout develops into a person who sees through the prejudices in her community and looks at them through the scope of someone who is too innocent to judge, yet too knowledgable to accept everything that is going on in around her.

In Oranges, Jeanette also learns that sometimes, feelings of the heart can be put above convictions of the mind.  Her whole community has also told her their beliefs of what is right--but unlike Scout, she has to find out on her own what is truly correct, because she has no figure to stand up for her beliefs for her, she's all on her own.  Her personal battle between what is right in her religion and what is right in her heart is how she comes of age in the book; learning to accept both.

In Blanket's, Craig's coming of age is literal, as he grows from little boy to grown man from cover to cover of the novel.  His story deals with the struggles of a boy who is just growing up trying to be a good kid.  When his teacher tells little Craig that he cannot draw in heaven, this seems to traumatize him for all of his childhood, as he is constantly thinking about how he can dedicate himself to god, at one point even trying to draw biblical comics...In one picture, the comics are spewing out of his head--and I think this shows further how disturbing this teacher's comment really was to him, because these drawings are his imagination, and in a way, they're all him.  Like the other two novels, many of Craig's struggles revolve around growing up and self-acceptance.

I think the greater purposes of these texts is to write about how hard it is to grow up, but that the hardships that are handed to you can be overcome.  I think they also talk to us as a society because all of them show that if you stand up for what is right, you can win the battle for yourself in the end, no matter how much injustice has occurred in the middle.