Coming of Age Death Influence free essay sample

Andrew Hunt Dr. Jacobi English L202 30 April 2013 Coming of Age: Death’s Influence In a â€Å"coming of age story†, a character’s coming of age conversion involves past involvements and new understandings to express a new feeling for a certain focus. In the film Stand By Me (1986), directed by Rob Reiner, and the short story, â€Å"The Grave† by Katherine Anne Porter, death plays a very noticeable role in shaping the characters of both the film and stories actions. In â€Å"The Grave†, the young girl, Miranda, acquires the importance and understanding of life through the death of a pregnant rabbit. Even though Miranda has witnessed the death of rabbits before, this occurrence however was different. In Stand By Me, the main character Gordie also experiences death for the first time. The film is evolved around Gordie and his friends mission to find the dead body of a kid similar to their age that was killed by a train. We will write a custom essay sample on Coming of Age: Death Influence or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The boy’s attentions prior to finding the body were to report it to the police and become famous for finding it. However, this moods changes when they see the actual body of Ray Brower. Death in both works changes Gordie and Miranda’s view of it from this point on. In the film Stand By Me, death is playing a very important role. In this movie, a boy name Gordie and his group of friends go on a journey to find the body of a local town boy named Ray Brower. Death in the movie comes in two different scenarios: the death of Ray Brower and also the death of Gordie’s older brother Hunt 2 Denny. During the boy’s journey, they try to overcome many obstacles that stand in their way. The obstacles they faced however, can be seen as chances to live their childhood out to the fullest. The death of Gordie’s older brother Denny left a negative effect on Gordie and his family. Denny was very supportive towards Gordie and he admired Gordie’s writing, while his parents disapproved. After Denny’s death, Gordie realized he practically could not live the rest of his life as a child. He had to grow up even faster now because he had to provide for himself shown by the lack of care and love his parents did not give him. The boys finding the body of Ray Brower was also a symbol of death. It’s a symbol of death not only because the boy is dead, but the body also takes away the boy’s innocence. The boys had never seen a dead body before and the fear from it took them over. They all realized the importance and significance of death, and how powerful it is. They now acted more mature then they did before seeing the body, and the boys realize their â€Å"coming of age†. Seeing the body gave the boys knowledge that no matter how young and â€Å"invincible† someone is, death is more power and can happen at any moment. In the beginning of â€Å"The Grave†, Miranda and her brother, Paul plays in a graveyard where their grandparents are buried. Miranda and Paul both were avid hunters, so they both were use to seeing death. The graveyard the children are Hunt 3 playing in is the first symbol of death that is used in this story. Graveyards are often interpreted as places where the deceased rest, but graveyards can also be interpreted as a place of new life and rebirth. Throughout Miranda and Paul’s childhood years, they both would play in the graveyard as often as they could. What makes this story very ironic is the fact that the place where Miranda would spend most of her time at, as young child, would also be the place Miranda experiences her transformation into an adult. The graveyard symbolizes the place where Miranda loses her innocence, and the place where she begins her new life as a more mature and responsible person. Coming of age in â€Å"The Grave† is also symbolized through the objects the children find in the graveyard. The objects they find are reminiscences and memories of what the deceased had when they were still living. Like the objects, Miranda and Paul now will only have the memories of their childhood. The memories they both made though will serve as reminders of their childhood past that they loved and cherished. When Miranda and Paul see death in its realist form, both will only be able to look back and wonder on the days of their innocent childhood they once shared. Porter in â€Å"The Grave† uses a variety of different words that denote the actual meaning and nature of death. The words â€Å"bury† and â€Å"grave,† are used quite often in the story. These two words are very important words to use when talking about the death of someone, or in this situation, the innocence of young Miranda and Paul. The Hunt 4 itle of this story, â€Å"The Grave†, can be viewed as a title that foreshadows the outcome of what happens to Miranda at the end of this story. With many different opinions in this world, death can also lead to new life and rebirth. Once Miranda experienced the pregnant rabbit and the babies inside of it, she gained a clear knowledge and understanding of where babies come from and a better understanding of life. While Miranda’s childhood was gone in that very instant, she now understood and experienced a new life for many years to come. Rob Reiner’s film, Stand By Me, and Katherine Anne Porter’s story, â€Å"The Grave† are both great examples of â€Å"coming of age† stories where death plays a major role. In both works, death influences children in away where they are now more aware of what’s going on and influences the children to grow up at such a young age. In both the movie and the story, death teaches the characters the value and importance of life. Even though, neither of the main characters died in both the story and film, little pieces of Gordie and Miranda did die and those pieces will never be brought back to them.