Matty coming of age

"wHy dOnT yOu JuST cUT hIm?" A simple solution proposed by 'Norman Bates' to Jason in response to his bully troubles. Ah, of course! Why wouldn't Jason think of that; just commit a felony and permanently handicap his tormentor. It's easy as that. In all seriousness though, I was definitely shocked and kind of amused by the extremity of the bus driver's solution, and I'm glad that Jason decided against it. A vital part of Jason's growth throughout the novel is him gradually learning to deal with his tormentors by accepting himself and learning to not care about the opinions of those he doesn't care about--as Holly Deblin says, "Don't let dickheads define who you are." This is also the Dean Morin approach: just ignore the dickheads and live how you want to live. I think Jason makes the better decision for himself here by choosing the arguably more difficult process of self-acceptance and growth as a person rather than taking the ...

In our discussion a question came up about whether Ruth has really come of age. By the end of the novel she has found herself and discovered the kind of person she wants to be. While this can be seen as her coming of age, it can be argued that by rejecting the transition into adulthood and remaining a childlike "millennial presence" like Sylvie, she has failed to come of age. In my opinion Ruth does not completely come of age by the end of the novel, but takes a step towards it. Coming of age isn't a single event that magically transforms you into an adult. It's composed of several incremental steps, through which you discover yourself or grow as a person. At the end of the novel, by choosing a transient life style and following Sylvie, Ruth has taken of these major steps towards coming of age. Ruth spends most of the novel without direction in her life, having no goals and no aspirations. Initially we see both Ruth and Lucille constantly worry about loss. They lose...