The Monkey Garden Essay

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The coming of age of any girl is a very important and significant moment in their life. In Sandra Cisneros’ “The Monkey Garden” the character of the story has a coming of age experience which will changes her life forever. In the story Cisneros describes the character as a child who enjoys playtime in the abandoned Monkey garden. As she is lost in the adventures of the garden she finds herself changing. Like in every other child who transitions into adulthood, this moment marks a new path in her life. Coming of age is a significant and emotional event in anyone’s life. Not only does it mark the beginning of adulthood but it also means losing your childhood games. Cisneros portrayed the garden as a world of childhood fantasies. Children used their …show more content…

As she plays with the old cars and gets dirty, she feels like all the other kids think she is “crazy and [make her] feel ashamed (73-74)”. She no longer feels like the monkey garden is a place of fun. She is growing up and nothing in the garden feels fitting or right. All somehow seems childish. The characters coming of age is happening right in the garden and this event is not exactly a happy time for her. She realized her fantasy world had to end right when she “looked at [her] feet and their white socks and ugly round shoes (84)”. She knew right there that she did not belong in that world anymore. Her transition was beginning and she felt lost. “[T]he garden that had been such a good place to play (85-86)” was not hers anymore. As she transitioned she realized that the fantasy environment of the monkey garden was not suitable for her anymore. Not only did her coming of age meant she was not a child anymore it meant that she will lose her place in the monkey garden. Nothing seemed so misplaced before, she knew it was over. Her coming of age was the beginning of adulthood and the end of the

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