The main purpose for most Coming of Age Books are to express or
show how Coming of Age push us through the line from childhood to
adulthood. Many changes come with it gaining benefits and privileges
but also gaining problems. The line between childhood and adulthood
is thick as a brick wall. The book Girl in Translation, the move to the
United States for Kimberly was a physical and mental push from her
childhood to adulthood. The purpose of this essay is to show what is
gained through Coming of Age from a child to a adult. To see how
obvious the difference between being a child and being a adult is.
Throughout the story Kimberly had not really described her childhood
when she was in China a lot. Most of the time she would talk about was
how something about her life in U.S and China are somehow related. So
unfortunately she had been shoved to be a adult due to being in America.
She had already taken a job to work as, A factory labor job(30) . Those
kinds are the most inhumane and worst but she as a adult had to work a
job so that she and her mom could survive. That is something different
from being a little child. Being able to know what you can do to help out
yourself or your family. You can't be ignorant and think that everyday
you'll have meals prepared to you cause you want, You have to earn
it.
There is also more that a adult must understand. The ability to
understand people. Meaning like like the ability to tell if a person is
good or bad, or friendly or hostile, a smart or dumb person. What
the point is really you'll need people to be your allies when you grow
up to survive in this world and having this kind of eagle vision is
helpful to see who you think will help you out instead of dragging
you down through life. There is also another meaning to having
the ability to understand people, people are very complicated things.
in the book Aunt Paula"we have some very fine white tea...Please
feel free to drink as much as you like"(30) and when she leaves
Kimberly asks her mom "shall we try that special white tea?"(30) her
mom responds "My heart stem, do you think that those things were
left out by accident?"(30) pointing at a box of inexpensive greeb tea left on
the counter. Kimberly's mom seems to demonstrate that ability.
When you were a child you wouldn't really think of complicated
stuff as in something like romantic love. You only experienced the feeling
of platonic love from family or friends. When you enter adulthood you
start to think about more complicated stuff exactly just like this. You'll
wonder more further in your life than focus on the present think what am
I going to be when I grow up, who will I marry or love, or how will I get
money? I think childhood is much more simpler which I think is a big
benefit. Who wants to have all these worries because we're thinking
about small casual things too much. Although we won't be able to survive
through life if don't over think about things.
All the changes through Coming of Age pushes us out from childhood
to adulthood is to make it possible for us to survive in this world and time.
As life progresses its like a the sky. We were little kids playing outside as
a storm is about to come. Then through Coming of Age that storm finally
starts as rain comes pouring down. But now we have umbrellas because
we are adults. Coming of Age is like a boot camp to prepare us for that
cold world ahead of us.
