Coming_of_Age

The process of Coming of age is individual to everyone Good morning Class, coming of age is a time of transition from children to adult; the process has a powerful influence to such extent that can force every individual to reconstruct their foundations. The exploration of an individual’s relationship with their father redefined their identity, throughout the stages of growing up, the protagonist struggles to redeem and reconcile from their mistake, these are examined in the prose fiction “The Kite Runner” and the film “This boy’s life” by Michael Jones. Providing insufficient amount of parental guidance could influence the child’s process. The Novel “The Kite runner” Amir demonstrate desperate attempt in gaining baba’s acceptance, this is evident from baba’s POV, “He always buried in those books, I wasn’t like that!” he depicts his expectation for Amir to be a man with great influence, emerged the constant pressure Amir had to adapt. Hosseini continues to apply negative emotive words like “frustrated” and “bothered” establishes baba’s insight towards Amir’s cowardice. Entering manhood Amir has realized baba’s effort in educating him “I realize how much of who I was had been defined by baba” The omniscient Narration allow readers to see the independent Amir as his consciousness expands. When we are willing to redeem and seek reconciliation we felt regretful for the past unnecessary mistakes. This concept is experienced by Amir. Through the repetition of “There’s a way to be good again” it foreshadows Amir overcoming his selfishness and reconcile by rescuing Sohrab as redemption lies on him. The motif Slingshot act as a symbol signify security and friendship, the novel continues with the older Amir defeating anxiety and fought against Assef it was a very emotional turning point in Amir’s life as he proofed himself as brave. The film “This Boy’s Life” shown the portrayal of Jack lacking parental guidance lead to a rebellious teen who desire to have a complete family, he attempts to form a friendship with Dwight, his abusive and domineering stepfather. Living with him, Jack is restricted to do things he wanted, an extreme close up angle enhance with dark lighting establishes an intimidating atmosphere, emphasizing Dwight’s determined to set him on right path, the positioning of light covering half of his face foreshadow his transformation to psychopath. Later on seeing Jack with friends sat around a fire smoking, the director draw on the salient image of the fire in the blurry background, it serves as Jack’s confusion and hatred. As for the fight scene, the practice of tilt camera angle indicates an action, revealed the constant violence in their relationship; Jack undergoes dramatic change due to Dwight’s constant put down. When confronted with past’s mistakes, it is human nature to avoid the reality, however learning from your mistakes can restore a sense of well being. This is very true for Jack, as he get to know Arthur they realize accepting others nourishes understanding, the director taken a high angle shot enhance with calm music in the background indicates the establishment of friendship. From Dwight’s constant put down, the composer creates meaning by Mise-en-scene placing Jack in the hall way of Princeton University; with other students looking down at him, it demonstrate the importance to learn from your mistakes. There is never one process of coming of age, perception of growing up varies. It is Amir’s connection with his father that he found his real self, learning to redeem and reconcile his mistakes, whereas Jack’s process involves violence and rebellious action that lead to self-knowledge and desire to change.