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Benji's Struggle with Identity

     Throughout the book, it seems as though Benji struggles to find his identity in various ways. From fitting into his race, fitting within his friend group, and finding who he is a part of his brother, Benji experiences various factors that challenge and attempt to shape his identity and throughout the book, we see him struggling to determine his true identity.      One instance where we see him struggle with his identity is when rather than trying to create and find his own unique identity, Benji aims to copy others instead. He mentions how he took notes while observing others so that he can adopt them as his own. For instance, he would make sure to keep up with the terms and language that his friends used in order to fit in. It seems as though Benji settles for imitating others, most likely because it will ensure that he will fit in, rather than trying to work through his own identity.      Another instance where we see Benji struggling to figure out his identity is his relationsh
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Jason's Ride Up From Rock Bottom

     Throughout the book, Jason struggles with numerous pressures in his life including social opinion, and his greatest insecurity, his stutter. However, in the second half of the book, Jason faces all of those pressures until they eventually have little if any effect on his life. How and why did that happen? In order to let go of those pressures, Jason had to face those pressures, and in doing so he was able to start living the life he wanted, starting by gaining his confidence back and by spending time with the people he actually valued.      When Jason was forced to face all of his fears: exposing his stutter, being made fun of by his peers, and ultimately ending up at the bottom of the social hierarchy, he had nothing else to lose. However, by having nothing else to lose, he had nothing else that could stop him from doing or being whatever he wanted. He stopped caring about what others thought about him and become more confident because he no longer cared about what happened to hi
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A Father-Daughter Relationship

As Alison describes her story throughout the book, she emphasizes the significance of her and her father's complicated relationship. However, I wanted to talk about the idea of how even as she describes her relationship with her father as negative, she then states how "he was there to catch me when I leapt" (Bechdel 230). Throughout the book, I always saw her father impacting her in only negative ways, pushing her down, providing her a childhood of neglect, and only delaying her coming of age and ability to find her identity. However, it actually seems that it wasn't necessarily the case at all. In many instances throughout the story, Alison talks about how her father's life was " a narrative of injustice, of sexual shame and fear, of life considered expendable" (Bechdel 196). She looks down on her father because of his fear to live his life, his cowardice, his lack of strength to express and strive for the life he wanted rather than suppressing his iden
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Esther's Barrier

     At many instances throughout the story, Esther shows having the potential and opportunities of becoming successful. She has numerous paths that she is able to take, but every time she is about to step forward, it is as though she takes two steps back. She has potential and she knows it, but for some reason, something always holds her back from pursuing it, even when it is something that she actually enjoys and not something someone expects her to do.       One reason for the presence of this barrier that is especially prominent is her view that these paths aren't worth pursuing because, in the end, everyone would eventually die. She talks about how she has so many plans and things that she wants to do in her life like writing a novel, learning german, and learning pottery, but after her list of plans ends she can't see anything else and automatically believes that that is all there is to her life and they all eventually have no meaning (Plath 123). Additionally, throughout
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Holden's Perspective On The World

     Throughout the novel, it is clear that Holden has been showing symptoms of depression and one of the main thoughts plaguing his mind is his view that people grow up to be inauthentic and fake as they think and act in ways that are considered to be normal. However, he does not explain much about the different aspects of his perspective on the world. Much of the interpretations are left to the readers, including what he thinks the root of this inauthenticity is from, and why he thinks in this perspective at all.       In the book, it can be seen that he idolizes children, wanting to save them from adulthood. Furthermore, the fact that he believes that children would potentially become these adults who are phonies shows that he believes that the pathway that children take as they grow up will shape them into phonies. This pathway, however, would be the standard pathway that society expects of or sets for children. In fact, he even talks about wanting to run away from his current life
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Coming of Age in "Bridgerton": Marraige for Maturity

      Bridgerton is a show set in the nineteenth century that follows the Bridgertons, one of the many families that try to find their place in society. One of the main characters that the show follows is Eloise Bridgerton. Eloise, among other ladies her age, is expected to go through courting season, the time when ladies and available men around their age attend social events to meet one another and find potential suitors. As many ladies are preparing and attending these events, Eloise, however, remains opposed to the potential event of marriage.      Throughout the show, society is shown to depict coming of age for all women as the time when a lady becomes married. This is because society pushes women towards marriage as the one pathway that will ensure a woman to have a secure future. Any other pathway is restricted by the limitations that society has set on women.  Women are therefore raised towards the ultimate goal of marriage. This set pathway, however, limits the experiences an
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