Thesis: Growing Up in a Bad Place

Growing Up in a Bad Place

The theme “growing up in a bad place” describes a person who is born in a place that later becomes very affected and will interfere with a person as he/she ages. This theme is broken up into subcategories no matter what kind of event will happen. Each of these subcategories of the theme is very affected such as the phoniness of the adult world; alienation as a form of self-protection; and the struggle for self-definition. The main characters in “The House on Mango Street”, “The Catcher in the Rye”, and “The Body of Christopher Creed” all had the same pain of growing up in a bad place.
In “The House on Mango Street”, Esperanza doesn’t want to cross over from childhood to adolescents. She uses the monkey garden as a place to escape and be innocent, a place where no adults go. To Esperanza, the adult world means suppression of women and sexual submission. In “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden feels that the adult world is superficial and shallow and that adults are pretentious (phony). He finds the adult world complex and confusing and considers childhood as a time of innocence, curiosity, and honesty. He insists on drawing a barrier between the two worlds. In “The Body of Christopher Creed”, to Chris, the adult world is considered one of secrecy and rumors. His childhood is characterized by bullying as a means of defining social status.
In “The House on Mango Street”, Esperanza considers herself an alienated writer. She feels that her community is separated from the world and that she is separate from her community. She refuses to accept Mango Street and “escapes by writing.” In “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden isolates himself from his environment. He feels victimized and that alienation is his way of protecting himself. His feels overwhelmed and confused and his sense of superiority and cruelty separates him from having to interact with others. In “The Body of Christopher Creed”, Chris’s isolation was done in the form of bully verbal and physical. He attempts to find his place and figures out where they fit in by ganging up on others.
In “The House on Mango Street”, Esperanza has a strong personality. She reminds herself not to forget her reasons for being. She initially wanted to change her name, then wanted to separate from her family and create her own life, and finally was able to define herself as a writer. In “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden separates the child and adult world by labeling one as innocent and curious and the other as phony. It helps him to perceive himself as virtuous. This is how he keeps himself from the confusion and complexities of relationships and the adult world. He was not successful in figuring out where he fits in. In “The Body of Christopher Creed”, Chris attempts to correct people by his superior intellect and language. His disappearance redefines who they are and where they fit in.
The main characters in these three books share the same problems with growing up even though they have different circumstances. The issues are transitioning from childhood into the adult world, isolating themselves as a form of self-preservation from the fear of the unknown, and their struggles to define where they fit in.

This is my thesis. :)