"Coming of Age Novel" Blog

Dean Moran is probably the ultimate role model for how to deal with bullies. Throughout the chapter “Maggot,” Jason gets several choices for dealing with it from people around him, ranging from his teacher’s somewhat cryptic advice to his bus driver’s idea to “slice his tendons.” I think the most important advice he receives is from Holly Deblin and Dean Moran. While his teacher’s note is nice, it’s somewhat vague and it doesn’t stick as well as “Don’t let dickheads define who you are.” Norman Bates’ idea is even worse, as it would’ve landed Jason in jail. Holly’s advice provides a neat summary of what Dean exemplifies: not caring what “they” think. Dean doesn’t try to fit in with them, and he hardly reacts to whatever they do. At the beginning of the chapter, Jason does the opposite, and shows that he cares what they think about him. However, we can see at the end of “Maggot” when Jason is attacked and later in “Goose Fair” when he’s approached that Jason follows Dean’s example. H...

Sylvie is not knowledgeable about houses. Her inexperience is understandable, as she lives a transient lifestyle, never staying in one place for too long. As a newcomer to domestic life, she experiences a steep learning curve for housekeeping. She often goes through the motions of homemaking without understanding why or how to do it well.             The best analogy I can imagine for Sylvie’s housekeeping is the music of a band called The Shaggs; Sylvie is to housekeeping what The Shaggs are to music. Sylvie is a transient, forced into domestic life by circumstance, and The Shaggs were three sisters forced into music by their father. Sylvie has a surface understanding of the things people do to maintain their houses, does not understand what purposes they serve. As a result, she attempts to keep the house, but often does things that seem bizarre. For example, she understands that houses are supposed to be swept, but not where o...