As we mature slowly, we begin to gain a better sense of how the world works and what is happening around us. We grow from a dependent child to a responsible adult, a selfish teen to a generous individual, and much more. We begin to realize things we were not aware of in the past, and try to become a better person. Maturity and responsibility becomes more and more important, as we grow away from leaning on our parents in our daily lives and become active members of the society. While reading three short stories about the growth of teens and young adults, The Challenge, PRESIDENT CLEVELAND, Where are you and Too Soon a Woman, we are able to spot many instances where the characters changed for the better. In THe CHallenge, Jose started off as an awkward young boy with the perception that girls were lesser than boys, but his thoughts changed when he lost a game of racquetball with his female crush. In the short story PRESIDENT CLEVELAND, Where are you, Jerry changed from a selfish boy obsessed with his cowboy cards to a caring younger brother willing to help out his older brother. In Too Soon A Woman, Mary develops from a dependent burden to the family to a responsible and courageous helper, able to solve difficult situations.
The story flow helped to show the growth that the characters displayed, from beginning to end. Naturally, in the beginning, they were not as responsible, capable or mature as they were at the end of the story. The plot of the story and reactions of other characters help to develop their growth and changes accordingly. At first, Jose was doing weird and uncalled for things in order to gain the attention of his crush, Estela. But as the story progresses, we learn about how his arrogant attitude towards females was put to test as she beat him twenty-one to nada at a game of racquetball. At the end, he acknowledges that girls could in fact be better than boys at times, and shows his defeat to his uncle Freddie. His attitude is visibly different from beginning to end, as he finally understands and matures. At the beginning of the story. Jerry cared very much for his cowboy cards and not much about anything else. After their production was stopped, he became obsessed with President Cards. The change of cards shows the process of his maturation and growth, as he starts to care more about his family at the time of the President cards. He goes through a lot of trading to obtain five dollars, just so his older brother, Armand, could take his girlfriend to a dance. This shows how he has evolved from the kid who didn’t want to pitch in for his father’s birthday, to the caring and generous young man who helped his brother willingly. Mary shows up stubborn and persistent to go with the family. She relies on them to travel, and does nothing much than help the family look after the children. But when the father is forced to leave, she takes charge and rises up to a responsible character, even willingly putting her life in danger just to test out the possibly poisonous mushrooms. This shows her difference from the beginning to end, as she really changes from reliant to responsible. All three characters underwent immense change as they began to understand and go through things that they did not know of before.
As we explore their growth and see them growing out of their childish manners, we are also presented with the most important themes of the story. The themes represent an important lesson for the reader and are very obvious throughout the story. For Jose, it was respect for girls and women. His realization that gender does not always have something to do with someone’s athletic ability is key to his growth. He begins to respect women more and stops his trail of assumptions. This goes back to the theme of the story, and shows how he grew out of his immaturity with an experience with love. For Jerry, it was being generous and loving your family. One’s family is the most important aspect to their lives, and it is important to pitch in when they need help and to support each other. While a young child may not understand, Jerry certainly begins to help out more nearing the end of the story. Even though at first he was reluctant about giving his brother some money to buy his dad a gift and even lies about how much money he really has, he begins to be more generous and honest at the end of the story. He helps his brother get money so that he could take his girlfriend out to the ball, and this portrays how he begins to be more supportive of his family. For Mary, the theme that her character portrayed was never giving up. She was faced with many difficult situations throughout the story, such as hunger, lack of money, etc, and she was able to survive it all, as the leading figure. Even though she started out as an annoying character wanting to take advantage of others, she went through trials of difficulty and eventually proved herself to be brave and resilient.
These short stories also show that no one is ever perfect, especially when growing up, and making mistakes and learning from them are essential parts of one’s growth. For all the characters, they make back choices, but get back on their feet in order to learn and change for the better. For Jose, hsi prejudiced judgment and bad opinions of girls was no doubt negative, but he was able to learn a lesson and become more open minded. He grew as a person, and his opinions also grew for the best. Jerry was not the best person at the beginning of the story, all he cared about was his cowboy cards and he often put aside his family. However, he changed by the end of the story into a generous and caring person. This shows that everyone has the capacity for positive change and many young adults and teenagers shift for the better as they grow up and have more understanding of the world and their surroundings. Mary is at first very stubborn and insists on going with the family even though not everyone was onboard. However, she proved herself useful as she took care of the children and made sure of their safety before her own, showing her maturity and sense of responsibility. All three characters make bad choices at one point, but the important thing is that they fix their mistakes and change into a better person.
In conclusion, The Challenge, PRESIDENT CLEVELAND, Where are you and Too Soon a Woman were three short stories that proved to be a very just and realistic show of people growing up during different times. Although separated by decades and many differences, the characters all showed how they grew from a child to an “adult”. These short stories are very interesting reads and open up room for a lot of discussion. It also shows that it is okay to do the wrong thing, just as long we learn from them and don’t repeat our mistakes.
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