Coming of Age in Ferris Beach

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Recommended: Theory of social change in sociology

Coming of Age in Ferris Beach

Jill McCorkle's Ferris Beach is set in the 1970's, which is a transitional period in American history. The book is a buildings roman of Katie Burn's coming of age. Her maturing is complicated by the transition that is occurring in the time period. At the time, the Civil Rights movement had just ended, and there is a movement towards a more modern society, which included the integration of races and equality among men and women. In the book, the movement is characterized as a transition from the 'Old South' to the 'New South.' Different characters symbolize each time period. For example, Theresa Poole represents the Old South, whereas, Mo Rhodes is symbolic of the New South. As Katie grows up in this atmosphere, she must understand herself, and her sexuality. The mentalities of the Old and New South affect Katie's development. Each character in the book influences her values and beliefs. Katie must understand people like Mo Rhodes and Theresa Poole in order to establish her position in the shifting order. Throughout the book she is exposed to different extremes of Southern mentality, and she falls victim to others' views. Finally, Katie realizes that her notions about Angela and Mo Rhodes are wrong, and that she believes in ideas that fall in between the two extremes that she has experienced.

In the beginning of the book, we are introduced to Mrs. Poole, who is a traditional southern lady. She is ridiculed throughout the book because of her conventional beliefs. Her 'Old South' mentality is revealed at the beginning of the book when Mrs. Poole says, "the split levels are coming! The split levels are coming!"(pg. 1) She believes that the split levels represent a lower class and will degrade their long time established neighborhood. Theresa leads the Children of the Confederacy club and insists that Katie and Misty must be members of this historical organization. Katie and Misty's participation almost mocks Mrs. Poole's "southern ways." The organization epitomizes a traditional mentality. It is evident that Mrs. Poole does not want to partake in the transition into the New South.

On the other hand, Angela and Mo Rhodes are of an extremely opposite nature. Angela is a beautiful young woman, who Katie envies and admires. Angela is a free spirited girl who has no commitment to anything.

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