Growing Up Research Paper

Growing Up & Finding Your Identity
If life was like the plot of a book, growing up would be the rising action. Growing up involves searching for identity. Growing up and finding your identity makes up who you are as a person. These ideas are a consistent theme in “The Bear”, In Our Time, and A River Runs Through It. Growing up involves understanding the mystery of life. One must realize where they came from and where they are headed. That they were born and one day will die. As in the Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway, Nick Adams at a young age witnessed both birth and death in a short period of time for the first time. Though he did not quite understand death, he was exposed to it and that aided in the process of growing up. However, as life went on and he continued to grow up, he was sent off to war and experienced death in a greater aspect. Nick returned more familiar with tragedies. He also returned with a sense of masculinity. This masculinity is also part of Nick’s search for identity as he grows up. As someone enters their state of manhood, they gain the quality of traditional adult manly
The story started out with Ike as a child who was pro killing this monstrous and powerful bear, Old Ben.
Yet, as Ike matured, he decided instead to not kill the bear. He and the bear where foes but shared a respect for one another. They didn’t want their so called “fight” to end. And for that case, they both did not attack when they had the chance to harm one another. This represented Ike’s process of growing up. During the setting of A River Runs Through It, Norman and Paul were forced to grow up at an early age. Because of the circumstances from World War I, men were taken from businesses to go fight in the war. So at the age of 16, Norman worked at the United States Forestry Service. At that same time, Paul obtained a job as a life guard. They were pressured to mature into the work