'Sometimes it is a single event which propels a child from innocence into adulthood. Discuss.

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‘Sometimes It Is A Single Event Which Propels A Child From Innocence Into Adulthood. Discuss, With Reference To The Texts You Have Read Throughout The Course.’ (Jane Eyre + Red Room)

Everyone has to grow up at some stage in their life, and in the three texts I have studied; the young children have been almost thrown into adulthood. This is because they have experienced an emotionally painful event, which forces them to come face to face with the harsh and cruel realities of adult life.

In each of the pieces of writing, the children are all the young age of ten when they go through the horrific incident that forces them to mature.

In 'Jane Eyre', Jane is locked in the Red Room when she is only ten years old.

`for I was but ten;`

In 'The Lesson' the boy hears of his father’s death when he was

`a month past ten`

In 'The Flowers', Myop is only ten when she discovers the body of the deceased black man

`She was ten, `

Each of the writers makes the children in their texts such a vulnerable age to increase the impact of the tragedy they have to go through. It makes the reader feel sympathetic for the child and conveys how painful the experience must be.

In each of the texts, the children featured all come from varied backgrounds, and have all been treated in different ways before being forced from childhood. Some have had happier childhoods than others.

In 'Jane Eyre', Jane is an orphan whose parents were killed by TB? She is left in the care of her uncle, but he too passes away. Jane is then left to be looked after by her aunt, Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed made a promise to her husband on his deathbed to treat Jane as she was her own, but she does not fulfil this promise. She treats Jane with inferiority, claiming she is

`less then a servant`

and excluding her from family activities. Due to the attitude of Mrs. Reed, her children take the same approach, and are unkind and disrespectful towards Jane. Her eldest cousin John Reed continually bullies Jane, making her life a misery. Brontë’s use of language as she says

`every nerve I had feared him`.

The use of the phrase ‘every nerve’ conveys the intensity of the terror that Jane feels due to Johns bullying.

It is because of John’s taunting and abuse that Jane is unfairly locked in the Red Room. She reacts to John throwing a library book at her head for no reason. Her aunt then leaves Jane in a secured room without giving her a chance to explain herself. The unfairness, which Jane is treated with, and how she is made to feel inferior to her family shows us how she has a very miserable, lonely childhood. Brontë creates this air of sorrow within Jane’s life to draw the reader to feel sympathetic towards Jane, so when she is locked in the Red Room it conjures up many angry emotions as Jane is put through the peak of her torturous life.

However, in 'The Flowers', Myop is a happy, carefree young girl, who has a pleasant childhood. As she walks around the farm where she lives she skips and sings.

`The days had never been as beautiful as these`

gives the impression that life is improving for her. Walker gives this feeling so when Myop finds the deceased body of a black man who has been lynched because of his race, the shock seems much more tragic.

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Colour plays an important role in creating an atmosphere in each of the texts. As Myop skips in 'The Flowers', she is surrounded by an array of beautiful golds, browns and yellows,

`Each day a golden surprise`.

The healthy growth of the crops also symbolises happiness, as Myop’s livelihood is the farm on which she lives, so a good harvest would mean a wealthy year. Gold is also a symbolic colour, as it is a precious metal, which should be treasured, just as Myop’s childhood is precious.

Gold also features in 'The Lesson' as, the young boy, after hearing ...

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