Growing Up In The Round House By Louise Erdrich

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Recommended: Theory of family stress and adaptation

Growing up can be an extremely complicated process. The changes that occur are physical, emotional, and mental. All aspects of growing up can be triggered by puberty, or possibly traumatic experiences that happen in that person’s life. In a traumatic event, not just the person being attacked or traumatized can be affected. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, “Diagnostic descriptions of what constitutes a traumatic event ... clearly suggest that mere knowledge of the exposure of a loved one to a traumatic event can be traumatizing as well.” (Kleber). In Louise Erdrich’s novel, The Round House, one can see the how Joe was forced to grow up before he was ready because of the trauma he had experienced. His brain wasn’t fully …show more content…

There are many instances of sexual innuendos, talks about genitalia, and times of using drugs and alcohol, which they are all underage and hide from their parents. At one point in the novel, Joe is talking to his friends about their own genitals. They compare the circumcised and uncircumcised penises to characters in Star Wars. “Zack had a Darth Vader, circumcised, and I did too. Cappy and Angus still had their hoods, so they were Emperors.” (Erdrich 65). Talking about this seems very childish, proving Joe was still but a child during this time period. Another instance throughout the novel, was when Joe and his friends would steal beer and cigarettes and hide them from their parents. All of these traits and actions of Joe prove him to be too young to understand and make adult-like decisions and mull the consequences. Joe doesn’t quite have the mental strength to think about getting revenge for his mother, or to bring justice to him in another way. He makes a rash decision, and ends up committing murder, a very non-native like trait. The whole situation with his mother being attacked forces Joe to grow up in a way he is not ready for. At no point should someone be ready to take the life of another, but at the age of thirteen? Joe had no business needing to grow up like this. This event could scar him for life, as it more than likely did. He was too young mentally to have to kill a man at thirteen, and his actions throughout the book proved he was still just a

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