Loss of Innocence in Rite of Passage by Sharon Olds Essay

Although the themes were simlilar, the authors perspective on the topic differ.Beryl Markham thinks that a rite of passage has to be proven to other people. Doris Lessing disagrees. Her thought on the topic is that for it to be a rite of passage it just hasto be proven to yourself. As long as you know you achieved your goal, then its considered a right of passage. I agree with Lessing, because I feel as long as you know you did itthen, no one can tell you otherwise. You don't have to prove to anyone anything.

The narrator or older brother, whom was never named, is an algebra teacher, at a school in Harlem. On the way to work he reads a newspaper article about his brother; Sonny, who was picked up the night before in a drug raid. The narrator is stunned that his little brother, whom he considered to be “wild but not crazy” and had always been “a good boy” (Baldwin 93), got himself caught up in the world of drugs. While, the narrator is teaching he feels what he describes as a block of ice in his stomach that “melts and sends trickles up and down his veins” (93) at the thought of Sonny. Being at the school around young men reminded him of himself, his brother, and his current situation. As he teaches, he cannot help seeing the face of his little brother in the young men. He thinks to himself that Sonny probably wasn’t much older than these young men

A rite of passage is a transition from one stage of life to another. These passages are pursued when one passes a milestone such as birth, maturity, and achieving adulthood. These milestones will clearly show changes in the characters life. It involves significant change in their views, and of society. A rite of passage is shown in Anthem, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, and Great Expectations. The characters show significant changes as they transition through their life..

The boys are alone without their parents. They are young boys. When they were with their parents their parents would comfort them when they are scared. Now that they don’t have their parents their fears are trapped inside of them.

Elton Pope states, “When you’re a kid, they tell you it’s all… Grow up, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid, and that’s it. But the truth is, the world is so much stranger than that. It’s so much darker. And so much madder. And so much better”. Throughout one’s personal timeline, events in which occur in what seems like random happenstance are actually what help to shape one into the person they are destined to be. Times like these are often known as “stepping stones”, and take place in each individual’s lives. The cycle of life withholds three major events in which are touched upon in European literature. Appreciation of life, overcoming milestones, and facing death, are all well experienced events spread across

1 According to Google Dictionary phrase "rite of passage" means a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone's life, especially birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Sharon Olds gave her poems title "Rite of Passage" because in this poem she describes the state of adolescence and the rites of passage that lead to adulthood. Olds wrote about young boys waiting to be men. The spiker, who is the birthday boy's mother, describing the veiled adults in the children that arrive to her son’s party, "as the guests arrive at my son's party." The author wrote, "short men, men in a first grade," Olds chose "first grade" as a symbol of growing children because when child goes to first grade he or she becomes little independent from parents,

The Situational irony is prevalent when the boys are finally recognized as the bad characters that they’ve been trying so hard to be, but all they want to do is cry and “get out of the car and retch…”

They boys knew that they were going to have to hide the metal ball or else it was going to get taken away, which means that they are growing and becoming more aware of how unfair the world is.

Throughout many works of literature, characters are described to go through a rite of passage, developing the plot and solving conflicts. A rite of passage is when a character goes through life changes, realizing his/her flaws and maturing as a person. Walter Lee Younger is a man that goes through many different character changes, which cause conflict amongst the other characters. Once he goes through his rite of passage, he is able to fix his flaws and mature. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, characterization is used to portray that one must experience a rite of passage in order to mature.

The third area being discussed is the confusion expressed in “The Whipping” by the child running from his mother who is trying to give him a whipping. The child is being chased uncontrollably like an animal in the woods as stated in the second stanza:

The poem “Rite of Passage” by Sharon Olds is focused on a young boy’s birthday party, coming from the Mother’s perspective and how the young boys are overly competitive. This poem breaks down into a representation of what the mother perceives will be the children at the party in the

Throughout Signs Preceeding the End of the World, Herrera uses the verb “to verse” to describe physical crossings. But, there is a theme of psychological crossings throughout the novella. During Makina’s journey to deliver a note to her brother, she experiences a mental journey in which she moves from a sense of certainty to uncertainty. Her home is a place of familiarity and assurance, but the trip to The United States is anything except assuring. Makina verses throughout the novella on her journey, but the novella itself is a transgressive work through the culture of the border town.

A Rite of Passage can be very different depending on what culture you look at, but overall it is a ritual where a person's status in the community is changed. These changes usually have to do with becoming a man or woman and leaving your adolescence behind, but it can also have to do with other kinds of transitions in ones life. Rites of Passage are essential to obtaining roles in your society and progressing with your life. They also make the society stronger as a whole and can help to give people feeling of meaning in life. I feel like my Rite of Passage was around when I turned 18. This was the moment I truly took control of my life, decided to get a job, get a car and go to school. Before this moment in my life, I just went to high school

p. 484). It is a method of making this transition from girl to woman easier.

After gaining the reader’s attention, Goulding goes into further and more descriptive detail of the scene. He creates parallels between the boys and