The Miseducation of Cameron Post Reading Journal One: Chapters 9-12 Up to the beginning of chapter nine, while I have been reading The Miseducation of Cameron Post, I have been noticing the recurrence of Cameron’s dollhouse. Since Cameron picked up her first VHS tape, it has become a safe space for her to decorate with all her stolen things. In these chapters, however, the meaning shifts. Suddenly, the dollhouse is more than just a safespace, and more than her perfect world. The dollhouse begins to symbolize the secrecy that develops as Cameron begins to become more involved with Coley. Undoubtedly, secrecy has been one of the enduring themes throughout the novel. It is ever-present even in the novel’s opening pages, but portrays itself …show more content…
She continuously uses the word “lesbian” to describe herself, knowing that it makes her uneasy. However, this section also shows its power when Cameron is sent to Promise. This powerful idea that builds throughout her stay at Promise manifests when Cameron doesn’t only hold onto who she is, she embraces it, despite the hardships she faces at the camp. There is a lesson to be learned in this: that there is always good in things, even those that go against your beliefs. I think this is the reason that Cameron is able to learn to like, or at least tolerate, Pastor Rick. She is able to find strength in herself enough to find light in the dark of her …show more content…
Cameron moves from finding herself through secretive rebellion and, although she still pines for her dollhouse and the home it symbolizes, begins to find herself through new friends and the strength she gains in order to keep her own character. Her coming of age symbolizes the need we all have to build upon the world we have imagined for ourselves, just as she has come to make her dollhouse safespace a reality. Even as the theme of this coming of age shifts away from secrecy, when Cameron is outed she keeps her rebellious personality, allowing her to continue to build on this