Personal
identity is an issue that kids and adults alike, struggle with. While in today's
society the realm of identity is expanding on many different levels (whether
racially, sexually, religiously, etc.) there are still holes that leave people
questioning who they are and where they fall in the world.
Benji is no different as he is conflicted between his racial identity and his place in the world. He is in a different generation, arguably making his experiences harder, as there weren’t as many considerations and challenges on traditionally accepted identity. However, there is no doubt that a source of many of Benji’s trials and triumphs surrounded the fact that he is struggling between his black appearance and upper-class lifestyle in NYC. I think that his experiences in finding himself is really what helps progress his own coming of age story. Figuring out who you are is still a huge part of becoming the person that you are throughout your adulthood. Benji used pop culture and the feelings of others that were relevant in his time so that he could navigate the world of being a teenager without much guidance. This is a strategy that most kids use even today, as a kid, I feel like that is especially how I navigated through my own journey in finding myself.
Benji is no different as he is conflicted between his racial identity and his place in the world. He is in a different generation, arguably making his experiences harder, as there weren’t as many considerations and challenges on traditionally accepted identity. However, there is no doubt that a source of many of Benji’s trials and triumphs surrounded the fact that he is struggling between his black appearance and upper-class lifestyle in NYC. I think that his experiences in finding himself is really what helps progress his own coming of age story. Figuring out who you are is still a huge part of becoming the person that you are throughout your adulthood. Benji used pop culture and the feelings of others that were relevant in his time so that he could navigate the world of being a teenager without much guidance. This is a strategy that most kids use even today, as a kid, I feel like that is especially how I navigated through my own journey in finding myself.
Throughout
this course, there have been many different stories. Each book proves the fact
that every person goes through life in their own sort of way. Additionally,
there is no set in stone time when you come of age, as there is also no
definition for exactly what life event you go through in order to be initiated
into adulthood. For me this has been telling reoccurrence, for many kids
growing up, becoming an adult and the time that you reach that status is a source of a lot of anxiety.
While some of the characters have approached their journeys in ways that I
would not do myself, it has been really cool (as an outside viewer) to see the
ways that people approach their experiences and how those experiences have shaped
them. My eyes have definitely been opened.
I like your idea about there being holes that leave people questioning and about how Benji being in a different generation can make things harder. I think that this is an important part of Benji's struggle. He wants to make the things that his parents did part of his identity, but he struggles with the differences in the problems that his generation faces. Because his parents were able to achieve an upper class lifestyle in New York he doesn't have the same challenges that they had and these challenges are something that he feels like should be a part of his identity. Part of his process is figuring out how to fit this in with his own experiences and how he should react to the racial tensions that are still in place.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that the source of many of Benji's triumphs is the fact that he is struggling with his race and where he fits into society. I think you can see in his thoughts and actions throughout the book that he thinks more about himself as he struggles to find his place, and that this introspection is very important to his coming of age journey.
ReplyDeleteMhm you got it! Yea see that's the thing -- you never really know when you come of age, because there's always more to learn, ya know? Like how do we even define that... when you get a job? When you can support a family? Even so, you have so much more to learn! You have passions to work towards (and if you don't then lol find one or else you'll be sad) and like... well as a 17 year old I can't say all that much but... there's just so much going on in the world that there's always something going on. People go through different experiences, and that's why it's important to respect everyone. Lol how did I get to this well anyways back to the point um yea well my journey at Uni is coming to an end, but like what most seniors are saying on their blogs, it's just a tiny segment if our lifetimes. Keeping being hungry for knowledge I guess! We'll learn our place in life eventually. Hopefully. Ah that brings up another topic about what we really mean a place in life but... I'll leave you guys to ponder about that cuz that's something that can't even be explained in 10 blog posts.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice post. I think one aspect of coming of age is finding yourself and where you fit in society, which is something that Benji deals with throughout all of Sag Harbor. To be able to figure out where you belong and find comfort in that is something that I believe is important and signifies that you have found yourself.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like the similarities between the beginning of the summer for Benji and the beginning of the next school year. It's like although he has come of age more over the summer, he is still Benji, not Ben. Kind of like Leah's post on how you look back and realize you are different rather than feeling mature in the moment.
ReplyDelete