Growing up can mean many things, like maturing or changing in certain aspects. It is not only something that happens naturally, because it can also happen from experience. It does not happen to everyone, but for most people, growing up is seen as a part of puberty. There are many books written with the purpose of showing what growing up would be like. There are many great examples of these books, like The Challenge by Gary Soto, Too Soon a Woman by Dorothy M. Johnson, and President Cleveland Where are You By Robert Cornier. These books all reflect on growing up using similar plots. The Challenge talks about a boy who is interested in a new girl, and tries several ways to get her attention, but only succeeds when he challenges her to a racquetball match, but this boy, José, does not have any experience in the sport and ends up losing. Too Soon a Woman talks about a young lady called Mary who was in charge of taking care of a couple of children, who ends up realizing just how much responsibility she has and how she does not need to depend on others in her life. President Cleveland Where are You talks about a boy who sells cards, and at the end, gives the money to his brother.
In all of these stories, the story structure is very similar. All the main characters end up having a change in attitude at the end. In The Challenge, José’s attitude towards Estela changed a lot. Before, he was very interested in her and wanted to get her attention, but at the end, he wanted her to never talk to him again. Also, before, he was so confident that he could beat her in the match, but at the end, he realized that she was much better than him, which is why he had a change of attitude towards her. Throughout this story, José has grown a lot. In Too Soon a Woman, Mary and father’s attitude towards each other changed a lot. Before, father didn’t really like Mary, but at the end, he trusted her with his children and accepts her. Before, Mary depended on father, and desperately needed him to help her get back on her feet, but at the end, she was much more independent, and took her role of caring for his children very seriously, showing that she did not escape her old life, she overcame it. In President Cleveland Where are You, the main character Jerry was very selfish at the beginning, but at the end, when he gave his money to his brother, showed that he was actually very generous. All of these stories have happy endings in which the main characters learn a lesson and mature.
The themes in stories can be completely different, yet still relate to each other. This is possible because all of them could be what the changes reflect on. In The Challenge, the themes are lying for love, respect, and prejudice. José lied to Estela because he ‘loved’ her, which is before he changed. Then, during the change, he was prejudiced towards her because he thought she was unable to beat him sports wise. At the end, after the change, we can see that he doesn’t want to see her anymore, showing he respects her worth as a girl, and that her gender does not define who she is. In Too Soon a Woman, the main themes are sacrifice, freedom, and independence. Before Mary changed, she was desperate to gain her freedom, which made her sacrifice many things, like when she ate that mushroom. During the change, she was starting to embrace her responsibility, and at the end, after the change, she was not dependent on the father, rather, it was the other way around. In President Cleveland Where are You, the main themes are poverty, priorities, and family. Before Jerry changed, he had a poor background, which is why he decided to start a business for money. During the change, Jerry starts to realize that his brother might need it more, and as family, we should support one another. This is why, after Jerry matured, he understood the priorities of the money. Clearly, all the themes are presented throughout the changes of the characters.
Conflicts do not show up in all the stories, but these three books all have conflicts. These conflicts happen to all close up after the main characters grew up. In The Challenge, the conflict was José’s prejudice towards Estela. He believed the stereotype that girls can’t beat boys in sports, and that belief quickly ended after she beat him 21-0 in a racquetball match. Thanks to this defeat, José was actually able to learn that this stereotype is false, which is part of how he matured and changed. In Too Soon a Woman, the main conflict was that Mary and the children had nothing to eat, and since Mary embraced her responsibility, she tested a mushroom, knowing she could die if it was poisonous. This shows that Mary grew up because she was willing to put herself in danger for others. In President Cleveland Where are You, the conflict was that Jerry had earned some money and doesn’t know whether to spend it on himself or on others. However, in the end, he chose to give it to the people who needed it more than him, which shows that he grew up, which in the process, closed to conflict. This shows that all the conflicts end after the main characters grew up.
In conclusion, these three stories are great examples of growing up. They show us how a person can change and how this helps them grow. From a young boy to a young woman, there is no specific age to grow up. The motif of The Challenge is to show us to not be prejudiced towards people we know nothing about. The motif of Too Soon a Woman is to show that we have to take our responsibilities seriously and to be independent. The motif of President Cleveland Where are You is to not be selfish, and to prioritize certain things over others. All these motifs are shown in the story through growing up. The main characters are presented in a certain way that makes us doubt their worth, but at the end, we realize that they have learned their lesson. Maturing is a very important part in life, because it helps us develop ourselves into more agreeable people, which will give us much more opportunities. Although growing up/changing cannot be accomplished in one day, slowly, we can improve our habits and become our ideal version of ourselves. These three stories are great examples of how someone can change and grow up, and they teach us many valuable lessons.
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