Growing up is something that happens to us all, which can be defined as the process of aging and becoming more mature. Three stories that define this theme clearly are The Challenge, Too Soon A Woman, and President Cleveland, WHERE ARE YOU. In The Challenge, a young boy tries to catch the attention of a cute girl by pretending to be extremely manly and talented, but it backfires as he ends up nursing a wound on his back… and in his heart. In Too Soon A Woman, a young girl joins a family and ends up saving the kids from starvation while their father gets food. In President Cleveland, WHERE ARE YOU, the children collect cards, but Jerry generously sells a rare one for money for his brother’s girlfriend. Growing up is something that seems far away for a child, but is in fact happening all the time.
The story structure inside a story with the theme growing up is often about a main character learning a valuable lesson and changing. The main character often realizes something important that helps them learn to be more mature and in control. This change normally happens near the end of the story, and it’s an important lesson. In The Challenge, Jose sees that he can’t impress Estelle by being strong, he has to be himself, and that he doesn’t even like her that much now that he knows her better. He sees his current methods of attracting girls don’t work at all. This is new to Jose, and teaches him a lesson. In Too Soon A Woman, Mary eats a possibly poisonous mushroom, and gives it to the kids when it proves not to be poisonous. This changes her in the eyes of the narrator, by painting her as a hero instead of someone stealing father’s attention. The narrator changes by becoming more understanding of Mary’s true nature and that she is nice and kind. In President Cleveland, WHERE ARE YOU, Jerry, instead of keeping most of his money like he did before, gives away five dollars to his brother. Jerry changes by becoming kinder and less selfish. The story structure inside these stories are all similar, despite the different settings and characters. In all of these stories, the main character learns something new and important, which helps them travel along their journey to becoming a mature adult.
A central theme in all growing up stories is change in the main character's mind as they learn an important lesson. Change constantly happens, but some change is more obvious than others. The change of a character in a story can show the theme better. In The Challenge, Jose changes internally by becoming more understanding of women. He learns that they can’t be impressed by manly acts. Estelle had always been the same, it’s just that Jose didn’t know anything about her. Jose gained a better understanding of women, helping show the theme of how women aren’t shallow enough to be impressed by simple masculine acts. In Too Soon A Woman, the narrator realizes that first impressions aren’t always right as he sees Mary’s true personality. He starts being more friendly and welcoming towards her. Mary didn’t change, but the narrator did. The narrator thought that Mary had changed, but she didn’t, it was the narrator’s point of view that had changed. He learned the central theme of how first impressions aren’t always right. In President Cleveland, WHERE ARE YOU, Jerry learns to be kinder and more generous, and he learns that good deeds sometimes may not feel right, but they are still kind. His change to kindness and his dislike of it shows how the theme of how no good deed goes unpunished, or life can be unfair. Change can seem daunting, but it is useful. Change can be confusing in a character’s mind, but it is a necessary part of growing up to become more mature.
A significant part of growing up is conflicting viewpoints and emotions that help you become more experienced in dealing with matters of the heart. When you grow up, you might be a little disoriented and confused, leading to strong emotions and mood swings. Your closest friends and family will help you through this difficult time, and keep you in control. In The Challenge, Jose’s Uncle Freddy tried to tell him that girls were just as strong as he was, but Jose impulsively didn’t listen. He eventually realized his uncle was right when he played Estelle “Stinger” and lost “twenty-one to nada.” Jose played against Estelle, and lost because of his hubris. The central conflict in this story was Jose’s imagination versus reality. In Too Soon A Woman, the narrator wanted his father’s attention all to himself, and so he thought that Mary was annoying, and useless. But he was proven wrong when Mary risked her life to make sure that a mushroom was safe and saved the lives of him and his siblings. The narrator and his father thought that Mary wasn’t helpful, but was proven wrong. The conflict in this story was about Mary versus the narrator's father, who both figured that Mary wasn’t very helpful or useful. In President Cleveland, WHERE ARE YOU, Jerry changed by instead of keeping all of his money for president cards, he gave five dollars to his brother, which was a lot of money. Conflicting forces collide in you all the time, but always try to do the right thing. Conflicts happen all the time, and they help you grow up by making you more experienced and knowledgeable later in life.
In conclusion, growing up can be a tough time in our life because you have to go through confusing moments. But growing up is good for you and prepares you for the future. Three stories that show growing up are The Challenge, Too Soon A Woman, and President Cleveland, WHERE ARE YOU. They all feature the central theme of change, which is shown by the main character learning an important lesson. They have similar story structures, and all have conflicts between characters that help show the main characters how to grow up and become more mature. We will all grow up eventually. Growth changes a person from childish to more developed and evolved, and during this time, we will have to face conflicts that make us more prepared. Growing up often features a change of mentality and a more persistent mindset. Growing up can be defined as aging up and is the process of moving forward in life and becoming more mature so we can be ready later on in life.
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