Every post from now on will be for Coming-of-Age :DD

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Kindred: Definition of HOME

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Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler, follows the story of Dana’s experiences of time-traveling back to her ancestor’s plantation in the pre-Civil War era. Dana starts her journey as an observer, watching the atrocities of slavery. As Dana’s trips increase in frequency and duration, she becomes increasingly involved in this dangerous world. At one point, Dana makes an interesting observation on how the 19th-century plantation feels more like home than her new house in California. Such a statement appears nonsensical, as living as a colored woman constantly places Dana in grievous slave labor and physical danger. Dana’s story raises a powerful question regarding the definition of home : would one define home by the hard frame of chronological and physical location, or the intangible measures of time spent and the people one shares it with? One of her returns to the present, Dana expresses how she feels out of place. She struggles with simple tasks such as looking for aspirin and kitchen knives...
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Ragtime: Embrace or Resist Changes?

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Doctorow defined America’s early 20th century with a series of technological, cultural, and political changes. Upon examining the consequences of different personal responses to such changes, an interesting trend of individuals finding success through embracing change surfaced. In the story, characters who embrace transformation, such as Tateh, rise into new identities and life; those who resist, like Father, trap themself in the past. The opposite fates of these characters portray one’s adaptation ability as essential to finding identity and stability in a constantly developing society. Tateh’s journey starts as a powerless immigrant at the bottom of the social pyramid. Living in the Lower East Side slum, their family suffers severe poverty to the extent that his wife was coerced into selling her body. Even under such abject situations, Tateh perseveres and not once sacrifices his pride. This perseverance to defend his dignity is shown through his reluctance to accept Evelyn’s financi...
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Is Mrs. Greenwood a Good Mother?

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The Bell Jar follows the mental breakdown of Esther Greenwood as she struggles through the social expectations and pressures of early 1950s America. As Esther’s mental state descends into depression, she sends many cries for help to her mother, Mrs. Greenwood. Yet, many of Mrs. Greenwood's responses only seem to exacerbate Esther’s condition. But is Mrs. Greenwood really a bad, indifferent mother? Undeniably, many of Mrs. Greenwood’s comments on Esther’s condition are inappropriate. When Esther tells her that she has not slept consecutively for seven nights, Mrs. Greenwood completely denies her insomnia by stating that she “must have slept, it was impossible not to sleep in all that time (Plath 127).” Instead of taking Ester’s confession as a serious warning sign, Mrs. Greenwood dismisses it as an exaggeration. Her response both invalidates Esther’s struggles and pushes her into deeper isolation. A similar instance happens after Esther receives her first electroshock treatment. Wh...
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