Review Of Coming Of Age - 1372 Words

Grace Liang Palshaw English I Honors 25 September 2014 Coming of age is a recurring theme that is universally known throughout many different pieces of literature. Whether it’s influenced on true experiences, childhood memories, or even based on one’s current juvenile reality, many of theses works have a correlation between them that include many similar ordeals and struggles that the character goes through in order to metamorphosize into taking their first step out of childhood. One prominent theme that often appears is how one goes through and experiences what life is really like-- in other words, being exposed to a time of tribulation and other walls that stand in one’s path. Additionally, another theme that is how they lose†¦show more content†¦In particular, the plot is about the development of one of the Greasers, Ponyboy Curtis, as he journeys down a path of self-discovery. In the beginning, Ponyboy’s series of struggles with unwanted violence began when he walks out from the movie house, only to be greeted by a gang of sneering Socs. Because the Socs think they are superior, they jump on the Greasers at every opportunity. On the way home, he notices a red Corvair filled with about five Socs, which then got out, cutting him off, surrounding Ponyboy as they â€Å"walked around slowly, silently, smiling† while he â€Å"stood there like a bump on a log†, expecting nothing but the absolute worst (4). Following these events, Ponyboy then finds himself on the ground after denying a haircut from the Socs. The greasers cannot afford rings, cars, or other physical trappings of power that the Socs enjoy. Consequently, they must resort to more affordable markers of identity. By wearing their hair in a specific style, greasers distinguish themselves from other social groups. Conservative cultural values of the 1960s called for men to keep their hair short, and the greaser style is a clear transgression of this social convention. It is not only distinctive, but, as a ph ysical characteristic, this hair is truly an organic part of the greaser persona. When the Socs jump Ponyboy at the beginning of the novel, they ask him if he wants a haircut and threaten to cut off his hair. By doing so, they would rob