English 10h

English 10h

  • Submitted By: mgoblue820
  • Date Submitted: 03/10/2009 3:39 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1007
  • Page: 5
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2/28/09
Mrs. De Rosa English 10H
For most children the idea of growing up can be one of the scariest things they face in life. Some children are overwhelmed by the responsibilities they are about to take on and choose to hold onto their innocence of childhood rather than continue down the path towards adulthood. In the poem “Reading the Obituary Page” by Linda Pastan and in the novel Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main characters embark on their journey toward adulthood, and experience obstacles on the path toward becoming and adult.
As children grow older they loose their innocence. This is proven true in both the poem "Reading the Obituary Page" and the novel Catcher in the Rye. The title of the poem infers that the children’s childhood was slowly coming to an end, and adulthood was around the corner. Pastan describes the children as wearing “Starched dresses with ribbons, in miniature jackets and tiny ties.” She emphasizes on their clothes because it symbolizes their youth and optimism towards life. After a while the children will grow out of these clothes along with their naivety and innocent outlook on life. The game musical chairs is also another depiction of how the children are innocent, because musical chairs is a very simple game often played by young children. Children’s innocence is also evident in the novel Catcher in the Rye by the main character Holden Caulfield. As a child he found joy in meaningless activities such as playing chess with his childhood best friend, Jane. Also he found joy while he rollerbladed around central park or just hung out and played football with his friends. After a while Holden got bored of these activities he used to partake in as a child and wanted to do things that adults did. He decided to go out to bars and clubs and tried picking up older woman because he wanted to act like an adult, and do what adults do. This foreshadowed the fact that he wanted to become and adult....

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