Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Coming of... what age?


The Complete Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi's story of her own experience in 'coming of age'. To an outsider who has not read this book, 'coming of age' may give the impression that this is a wholesome story. It may be presumed that this book is based upon a teenage girl’s life and her various techniques in dealing with its inherent obstacles. As I thought more about this idea and pondered the overall magnitude of such a concept, I realized that coming of age does not always depict the transition into adulthood, but more the discoveries made during one’s lifetime. These discoveries play into a formation of self-identity.

Coming of age. What age? When taken literally, the concept becomes even more mind boggling. I look at my twelve year old cousin, Gabrielle. Conscious of everything she thinks, says, and eats. Never have I ever seen this natural intelligence at such a young age. There is thought… logical thought, behind every action she has ever made. She is poised and articulate. She demonstrates the behavior every mother has at one time aimed to achieve. On the contrary, I read stories about robbers, drug dealers, rapists and child molesters, and ask myself, at what point did these men and women ‘come of age’? These adults, who are understand by society to be ‘of age’, are making decisions that lack logic and rationality . These decisions, and in turn actions, not only turn them away from life’s discoveries but ruin their sense of identity and self-worth.

In comparing such situations, one may wonder if ‘coming of age’ is genetic; something you simply have or you don’t. For those who have ‘come of age’, it is not. Behind every discovery is a story, and behind every story is a reason.  In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi forms an identity. This identity is one that is unique and distinct to her discoveries that are based upon her own experiences. Because of this, it is impossible to pin point a moment of her ‘coming of age’. Instead, we come to understand her journey over the ages. Her true sense of self and her formation of identity.

2 comments:

  1. This is such an interesting way to think about the concept of 'coming of age'. It is interesting to think about it in terms of maturity, which seems to be what you are suggesting with your examples above. You can come of age in terms of literal age or in terms of age of figurative age, which suggests other aspects of age other than lifespan. One's figurative age can be influenced by experiences, maturity level, etc.

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  2. Morgan, I think your idea that "coming to age" does not necessarily mean there is a certain age when this happens. I think it is interesting how you have a younger cousin who you feel has the qualities of someone who has "come to age" a long time ago. For me, I have an uncle who is 40 years old, yet I think he could still work on "coming to age". His maturity and work ethic is at a very low level for his age. I'm starting to think that society has less to do with someone's "coming to age", but rather it's an issue of individual identity. Each person has the ability or lack of to mature and come of age.

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