Friday, December 7, 2012

Coming of Age

When I search for Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright on Google, this is the first result that shows up:


I’m not entirely certain how the algorithms work or how Amazon categorizes novels, but “Coming of Age” really jumps out at me—I hadn’t ever thought of Uncharted as a 'coming of age story', but on second thought, yes, I suppose it is. Perhaps the term has more to do with how loosely it is applied.

Wikipedia says “Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood.” Aspects of Uncharted—specifically, Marlena’s personal accounts—deal directly with her coming of age. But in a broader sense, (if one goes by Merriam Webster—“to reach maturity”) then the definition also fits Samuel, for although he is thirty one years old, he is finally coming to terms with his childhood and now his adulthood—finally maturing as a person.

It seems to me (and this from a meager fifty-two years of experience) that the ‘thirties’ is as much a time of transition and coming of age as is adolescence. Yes, the changes of puberty and reaching physical adulthood are momentous and highly visible, yet I don’t think it’s until one’s thirties that a person begins to grasp who they are and how they came to be. I don’t mean to get overly psychological here, but if the decade or so following adolescence establishes patterns in our behavior and thoughts, congealing into ‘adulthood’, it seems that by our thirties we are confronted with what has either been working for us or inhibiting who we’d like to be. And how did we end up with this person we look at in the mirror? Are our traits genetic, or did we learn them? Can we change the things we don’t like in ourselves? Or are we doomed to struggle with seemingly inherent weaknesses for the rest of our lives? Can we reconcile any of it and find peace with it all? Perhaps it was just me, but my thirties launched me into a great deal of introspection.

It is this introspection that I write about in my novels. I’m fascinated with the concept of ‘Coming of Age.’ Yes, I wrote about it in Uncharted without necessarily analyzing is as such. Now that I’m deep into revising Spilled Coffee, I see that it is the central theme approached from both the adolescent perspective of a fourteen-year-old boy and from his thirty-one year old self as he reflects on his formative years.

Even as I write this piece for my blog, I wonder if midlife could also be classified as another ‘Coming of Age’ episode. By now I am an established adult in my own right, but there is nothing like being in close proximity with aging parents (yes, cohabitating with them) to force another full-blown self-analysis and growth spurt—but that’s a whole ‘nother topic!



12 comments:

  1. About ever decade or so, I think I come of age...yet again. I'm not sure the process ever ends.

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    1. I guess I'm on more of a twenty year cycle, probably because I've always been a late bloomer--that, and it takes me entire decade to sort between 'ages'!

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  2. I think I'm either never coming of age, or continually coming of age.

    But I will never grow up! :)

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    1. Ha! Somehow Todd and I have managed to put off the growing up part, even while raising kids--'supervising' parents has kind of forced us into more 'adult' responsibilities. Funny how the tables turn...

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  3. And it's interesting, too, to see how others see your book as it heads out into world on its own.

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    1. Yeah--I guess everyone will have their own take on the story. Seems like it's all about sorting my own stuff when I'm writing, but who knows what it will trigger in someone else. I suppose all that is truly out of my hands, now. Sobering thought.

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  4. I guess I must be a young soul because although I came of age in my 30's, I'm regressing more now that I'm 50. I think it may be a case of the Peter Pan syndrome. Too bad I didn't age backwards as well.

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    1. Yeah, that's kind of the kicker--by the time we get stuff sorted out we also realize how short a time we have! (maybe even how much time we 'wasted')

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  5. I have been "coming of age" for a good spell now. It seems that has been lucky for me in several ways...OC

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    1. I reckon you've always been young at heart, Glenn. 'tis a good thing,,,

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  6. Reading this makes me think that those who say we're always growing are right. I always thought of adolescence as the crucible of self, but when I look back I can see that I changed far less between 14 and 19 then I did between 20 and 24 (which is where I am now).

    The experiences of my early twenties have had a big role in shaping the person I am now. I can only imagine that I'll have (hopefully) more insight and a more developed perspective at 30 or 35.

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    1. Ethan, It's amazing what a decade provides in the way of perspective! When you hit your thirties, you'll have a substantial backdrop for assessing your childhood and how that shaped the decisions you are making now. The important thing is to keep growing, and stay open to analyzing what decisions and traits have worked for you and what needs adjusting.

      And congratulations on your new Agenthood! May your new career take you all the way through your thirties and beyond! :)

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