The Mystery Of Room 342 Essay

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The transition from adolescence into adulthood begins about the age of seventeen or eighteen: The same age as Joan, from the story "The Mystery of Room 342." This transition is a major event in every person's life. It is where a child becomes independent, transitions into adulthood, and has to figure out things for themselves for the very first time. The Mystery of Room 342 is a very intriguing story. It opens in Bombay, but the bulk of the story takes place in Paris, France. Joan is traveling back to England with her mother just after Joan’s father passed away. Before they can settle down in England there is some business to be done in Paris. Soon Joan has a mystery on her hands when she cannot find her mother. However, this story is not …show more content…

The curtains were blue and white; the chairs were covered with gray material; and the wall-paper was white and had many small flowers. (pg 26-27) The changes the room underwent were drastic enough that change was definitely evident but similarities could be made. The wallpaper originally had large red roses but had then been changed to a smaller floral pattern--subtle but definable. Similar to the was one appears after the transition into adulthood. Their mind has changed but since you can no physically see one’s mind their outer appearance changes ever so slightly acknowledging the inner transformation. When first reading “The Mystery of Room 342” all anyone can think about is “What the heck happened to her mother?” But this story is not about Joan’s mother; it is about Joan. Subtle cues from the story uncover another adventure. One explaining the turmoil of becoming independent and welcoming adulthood. It may be a stretch to see the correlation at first but isn't that the magic of it all? Adulthood is not easy to define, which makes the matter of this story all the

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