“Coming of Age” Motif
Honors Handbook
Page 22
Coming of Age Story
• A type of storyline where the protagonist,
usually a child, is initiated into the hard realities
of adulthood through knowledge, experience, or
both, and often by a process of disillusionment.
• A “new awareness” emerges after:
– the dropping of faulty preconceptions
– the destruction of a false sense of security, or
– the loss of innocence
The 5 “Coming of Age” shifts
The Protagonist moves:
• from a state of naiveté to a state of knowledge.
• from a state of inexperience to a state of
experience.
• from having a false view of the world to having
a more realistic view of the world.
• from a state of idealism to a state of realism.
• from a state of immaturity to a state of making
mature responses and decision.
Some Examples?
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“Stand by Me”
“The Sandlot”
“Harry Potter”
“A Series of Unfortunate Events”
“Mean Girls”
Any others?
Your Homework Tonight
• Create a graphic organizer of your own.
• You must locate examples and passages
that highlight each of the five “coming of
age” shifts resulting from the boy’s
experiences in “Two Soldiers”
• Due tomorrow. Be prepared to share out.