Loss of Innocence in Rite of Passage by Sharon Olds
A rite of passage is defined as a ceremony marking a significant transition or an important event or achievement, both regarded as having great meaning in lives of individuals. In Sharon Olds' moving poem "Rite of Passage", these definitions are illustrated in the lives of a mother and her seven-year-old son. The seriousness and significance of these events are represented in the author's tone, which undergoes many of its own changes as the poem progresses.
From its title, the tone of the poem is already set as serious, and we know there will be a significant event taking place in someone's life. As earlier stated, a rite of passage is an important ceremony or a life changing event. Thus, we can infer that the poem's meaning will be important and serious. In the first line, "As the guests arrive at my son's party" the use of the word "guests", as opposed to the use of words like kids or boys or children, represents a more mature and serious feeling, more so than one would expect at a child's birthday party. Though it is a party, we don't feel any of the lighthearted, rambunctious excitement we would expect to find. Olds has set the tone as serious from that moment on, and it only becomes increasing so as we read on.
Most of us can easily picture a typical child's party, loud and hyper boys running about, noise and fun and screaming kids and chaos, but this party seems to be viewed differently by the mother. It is a more serious and quiet event. She sees the boys as "short men" gathering in the living room, not as children having fun. The children seems subdued to us, with "hands in pockets". It is almost as if they are waiting, as the readers are, for something of imp...
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... the model boat. In fact, the mother even recollects how like an infant he still is as she reflects on his birth and "the day they guided him out of me", representing her denial at her son's pending adulthood.
The son's rite of passage to manhood, his acceptance as the role of host and peacemaker and unifier, is a shocking one to both speaker and reader. To unite his comrades, he comments "We could easily kill a two-year-old" and the tone of the poem changes finally to one of heartlessness at the blunt brutality of the statement. The mother realizes then that the young boys, the future "Generals" who will soon live as men do "playing war", are far from innocent. Her rite of passage is a complete and sad transition from the mother of a child that she has some control over to the parent of a independent man, who will make his own choices and fight his own battles.
No matter what actions or words a mother chooses, to a child his or her mother is on the highest pedestal. A mother is very important to a child because of the nourishing and love the child receives from his or her mother but not every child experiences the mother’s love or even having a mother. Bragg’s mother was something out of the ordinary because of all that she did for her children growing up, but no one is perfect in this world. Bragg’s mother’s flaw was always taking back her drunken husband and thinking that he could have changed since the last time he...
S.E Hinton’s realistic fiction novel, The Outsiders, takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1950’s. It’s hard for Ponyboy, the main character, to reserve his childhood innocence because he is in a gang, called the Greasers, and the Socs and the Greasers are always fighting. One lesson The Outsiders suggests is preserving childhood innocence. While some believe the strongest theme of The Outsiders is loyalty, I argue the strongest theme is preserving childhood innocence, as supported by S.E Hinton’s use of characterization, dialogue, and allegory.From the very beginning, the characterization shows how the Greasers have lost their innocence. S.E Hinton describes how Johnny looked like a “lost little dark puppy that’s been kicked around too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers,” (Hinton 11). This line shows how Johnny lost his innocence because of the way he looks
Harper Lee decided to tell How to kill a Mockingbird from the eyes of Scout, because Scout's young age and innocence makes her have a clean way of thinking when an event comes up. In general, Scout observes, but has no opinion of the scenes that develop. The story is also being seen through Scout’s eyes because as a kid, she can see the smallest bit of goodness in someone. For a kid, it is easier to see the dark side of somebodies character. Innocence is an important asset in life. Innocence also shows how sometimes not knowing can be better for people at some points.
First, the author uses Figurative language to develop the theme by the mother uses a metaphor to describe her life and how difficult it was. It says, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters. And boards were torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.“This shows the author use Figurative language to develop the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles because life is going to throw obstacles at you and you have to try to avoid them. This shows the theme because instead of going back down the staircase where there are no problems you have to push through to get over the problem. Second, the author uses Symbol to develop the theme by using the staircase that represents life and life is hard and there will be a ton of thing that try to push us down and just try to stop us It says, “ I’ve been a-climbing’ on, And reachin’ landings, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. “This shows the author used Symbol to develop the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles because the mother kept going non-stop. This is important to notice because there will be a ton of thing that try to push us down and just try to stop us. To, sum up, the author of “Mother to Son” revealed the theme through Figurative language and
a new born son, yet the themes expressed in its lines apply to all the
The setting of a novel aids in the portrayal of the central theme of the work. Without a specific place and social environment, the characters are just there, with no reason behind any of their actions. The Age of Influence centers around the Old New York society during the 1870’s. Most of the characters are wealthy upper class citizens with a strict code to follow. The protagonist, Newland Archer, lives in a constant state of fear of being excluded from society for his actions. Archer’s character is affected by standard New York conventions as well as the pressure to uphold his place in society, both of which add to Wharton’s theme of dissatisfaction.
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
An intriguing Gothic tale, Eleanor's Gift, briefly transports readers into a world where a beautiful stranger named Rosette and the handsome Lord Welton rendezvous with romance, danger and the paranormal.
Loss of Innocence in Killing a Mockingbird Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather, the streets turned red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. " (Lee 9). This environment, as Scout Finch accurately describes, is not conducive to young children, loud noises, and games. But, the Finch children and Dill must occupy themselves in order to avoid boredom.
All people have an experience of ¡°Rite of Passage¡± because it is necessary to be an adult. What is Rite of Passage? It means a ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person's life indicative of a transition from one stage to another, as from adolescence to adulthood. In the story ¡°Barn Burning¡± by William Faulkner, Sarty, who was the son of barn burner- Abner Snopes, he experienced his Rite of Passage at the end of the story. Although his decision leads to his father¡¯s death, it helps him to independent from his father. I think he made the correct decision not only for himself, but also for his family and society.
Form and meaning are what readers need to analyze to understand the poem that they are evaluating. In “Mother to Son”, his form of writing that is used frequently, is free verse. There is no set “form”, but he gets his point across in a very dramatic way. The poem is told by a mother who is trying to let her son know that in her life, she too has gone through many frustrations just like what her son is going through. The tone of this poem is very dramatic and tense because she illustrates the hardships that she had to go through in order to get where she is today. She explains that the hardships that she has gone through in her life have helped her become the person that she has come to be. Instead of Hughes being ironic, like he does in some of his poems, he is giving the reader true background on the mother’s life. By introducing the background, this helps get his point across to the reader in a very effective way. In this poem there are many key words which help portray the struggles that the mother is trying to express to her son. The poem is conveyed in a very “down to earth” manner. An example of this is, “Life for me ain’t been a crystal stair (462).” This quote shows the reader that the mom is trying to teach the son a lesson with out sugar coating it. She wants her son to know that throughout her life has had many obstacles to overcome, and that he too is going to have to get through his own obstacles no matter how frustrating it is. Her tone throughout the poem is stern telling the boy, “So boy, don’t turn your back (462).” The poems tone almost makes the reader believe that the mother is talking to them, almost as if I am being taught a valuable lesson.
Van Gennep and Turner viewed rites of passage as an essential ingredient in the rejuvenation of society. They and other social scientists generally believe that rites of passage serve to preserve social stability by easing the transition of cohorts of individuals into new status and prestige roles; in part, they are a social acknowledgement of aging. As individuals are born and age, their positions in society change. In the absence of rites of passage, society would be fraught with conflict as individuals either struggled to assert new social statuses or resisted these statuses.
...[R]ites of passage are not confined to culturally defined life-crises, but may accompany any change from one state to another, as when a whole tribe goes to war, or when it attests the passage from scarcity to plenty by performing a first-fruits or a harvest festival. Rites de passage, too, are not restricted, sociologically speaking, to movements between ascribes statuses. They also concern entry into a new achieved status, whether this be a political office or membership to a exclusive club or secret society...On the whole, initiation rites, whether into maturity or cult membership, best exemplify transition...(Tumer 235).
Motherhood is a traditional role for women. From the time they are young, girls are taught to grow up, marry and become mothers. Of course they can do other things with their lives like play sports, have careers, and travel, but an overwhelming amount of women want to be mothers no matter what else they accomplish with their lives. It is common knowledge that being a good mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world. It is to forever have a special link with another person or people and have a tremendous influence, maybe the most tremendous influence over their lives. Motherhood is a roller coaster ride for women, full of ups and downs, fears and accomplishments. But what happens when motherhood defines who a woman is? All children grow up, and while a woman is always a mother, children need their mothers less and less until eventually their dependence is very minimal. What happens to the woman whose singular role and purpose is no longer needed? In The Summer Before The Dark, and The Fifth Child, the maternal roles of Kate Brown, and Harriet Lovatt are analyzed and traditional motherhood behavior is deconstructed due to these characters’ experiences and relationships with their children.
You’ve brought two children into the world that you adore so much, you want the best for them, and get them many things to advance and entertain themselves. All for them.....and when you think it may be good to take a short break, a vacation, from electronics. Your beloved children go hysterical. They holler you down into the special play room, which costed a fortune! But it’s for your children, who’d you do anything for. When you arrive to the room, no one is there besides you. Your children who are outside of the room listen to your terrorizing screams and lock the door. While you turn around to find yourself in the middle of a feast, with you being the main dish to hungry, furious, aggravated lions. This is what take place in Ray Bradbury’s