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The, By Harper Lee And Under The Mesquite By Guadalupe Garcia Mccall

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In many works of Young Adult Fiction that I have had the pleasure of reading, the protagonist, though it may not be specifically addressed, forms some sort of identity for themselves. Due to the fact that I’m talking about YA Fiction, this is often times occurring through a journey of love of some variety. The main characters fall in love, they help each other grow/progress in life, and everyone’s happy for the most part. However, I have seldom read books where, if identity was a theme, they focus mainly on the pain and hurt that forming an identity caused; the raw emotion involved in becoming your own person. While it may sometimes be focused on during points in the narrative, I don’t know of many stories where it’s at the core of the tale. Of the few books I know of, and enjoyed, that have done this, Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee and Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall both address the theme of how through a loss of innocence, one can become their own person. In both, Go Set a Watchman and Under the Mesquite, characters form their identities through changes. in their relationships, and both protagonists go back to their roots to form an identity for themselves. Taking place about twenty years after To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman is an extension of sorts of the award-winning novel. Harper Lee writes about Scout, who goes by Jean Louise in Watchman, when she is in her twenties, and is in a relationship with her brother 's childhood friend Henry, who

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