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St Lucy's Home For Girls Raised By Wolf Analysis

796 Words4 Pages

Most people do not have to remind themselves of things like not chewing on their shoes or being shunned, but in “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” by Karen Russell, Claudette is forced to worry about both, along with many more. Through Claudette’s journey she is faced with several obstacles and challenges that test her commitment and determination to become “civilized and ladylike, couth and kempt” (237). Claudette makes the transition from wolf to human girl by beginning to act more civilized with a changed mindset and separating herself from the pack. Throughout this story, the wolf pack is forced to go through a drastic change in their lives. Prior to St. Lucy’s Home Claudette, Jeanette, Mirabella, and the rest of the pack only worried about things like food and survival, as well as the pack as a whole. Then all of the sudden, they are forced to leave their families and come live with the nuns at St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves so they may become civilized human girls. Their ability to adapt determines whether or not they are successful and are able to function in society. Each member of the pack must focus on their …show more content…

An initiation story can be described as, “When a character learns a significant truth about the world, society, people, or himself or herself” (Mays 131). In Claudette’s case, she learned how to go from a wolf girl who was a part of the pack, to an independent human girl. This transformation was a success for Claudette because if she was like Mirabella and could not adapt, then she would have been shunned from both the pack and her family, who sent her there in the first place. Also, the transformation was both mental and physical, as both her body and her mindset go through a drastic change. The reader can see Claudette’s transition from a wolf girl to a civilized human girl throughout the

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