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Coming Of Age In 'Lather And Nothing Else'

1223 Words5 Pages

Alex Brannigan
Mr. Myers
English 3R
23 May 2023
Title
HOOK>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Coming of age is simply growing up, it is an experience that one will go through to gain recognition and maturity while leaving their childhood behind them and entering young adulthood. The two components that show hardship and coming of age are loss and identity and can be shown by two characters. The component of loss is exemplified by author Jason Reynolds in the book Long Way Down when the main character William experienced the loss of his brother and struggles with grief. Meanwhile, the component of identity is represented by author Hernandez Tellez in the short story “Lather and Nothing Else” when the barber faces a hard decision.
Loss is the process of losing something …show more content…

Identity is often manifested by an experience and or series of events that will alter and challenge someone’s values and personal beliefs. In the short story “Lather and Nothing Else” author Hernandez Tellez does a promising job at showing the coming of age component identity through the barber’s perspective. Hernandez Tellez explores this component throughout the story as it takes place in a time of political conflict and the barber is faced with a popular revolutionary leader with a target on his head that has come in for a clean up. The barber challenges his personal beliefs and values in a dilemma with the chance to kill the man, turn him in to authorities, or risk his individual saftey and simply let him walk out the door. In the story “Lather and Nothing Else” the barber says, “He came in without a word. I was stropping my best razor. And when I recognized him, I started to shake.” This quote is able to show that the barber is very inexperienced in a situation like this and being completely caught off guard as nervous chills are sent directly down his spine tossing him in a basket of agony. Later in the story as the barber is shaving the leader’s beard he says, “I am a revolutionary but not a murderer. And it would be so easy to kill him. He deserves it. Or does he?” Therefore, providing a perfect example of how he …show more content…

In Jason Reynolds book Long Way Down, 15 year-old-boy William faces the component loss and struggles with finding the correct answer to his grief. After he conversates with the ghosts of previous people the revenge cycle has collected, he realizes that he can’t think about what only affects himself and needs to factor in the people around them and how his actions will harm others. William grew and showed maturity by learning when in doubt, to never stop trying to do the correct thing until one gets it. During “Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernandez Tellez, the barber was able to overcome a difficult situation while being challenged by his identity and sense of self. He was able to further understand his place in the world and is now confidently willing to honor his moral beliefs and what he classifies as right and wrong. Coming of age is a crucial process for an individual to not only develop their identity, but to find their purpose and direction in life. In all, coming of age is an necessity to one’s life, and because of this process people are forced to face complicated issues, moral beliefs, personal values, empathy/compassion for others, and last but not least a distigunished sense of

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