How Single Events Propel a Child from Innocence into Adulthood :: Childhood Adulthood Development Essays

How Single Events Propel a Child from Innocence into Adulthood To show how single events or experiences propel a child form innocence into adulthood, I shall use the following texts, "Jane Eyre" a novel by Charlotte Bront, "The Flowers" a short story by Alice Walker, "The Stolen Party" a short story by Liliana Heker, "The Lesson" a poem by Edward Lucie-Smith and finally "Diana, Her True Story-In Her own words" an autobiography by Andrew Morton. Childhood is a muddled time where children are oblivious to what goes on in the surrounding environment, they think that everything is good and safe and are just unaware of the reality. Children generally learn the truth from their actions, parents, and sometimes it is a single event, which will be remembered from that moment on, to open their eyes to the real world. I am going to show how this change in a person occurs in the texts above. "Jane Eyre" a novel by Charlotte BrontÃÆ'Â «, the novel is written in third person narrative, given form Jane's point of view, giving the story a very honest, personal view on her life. "Jane Eyre" is about a young girl of 10 years old called Jane; she grows up as an orphan due to the death of her parents when she was a year old. She was sent to live with her aunt in Gateshead. She is not accepted into the aunts' family and she is open to daily cruelty and neglect throughout her childhood. Near the beginning of the book Jane is sent to the "Red Room" this is to punish her bad behaviour. The experience of being unfairly treated, is the first time she realises how unfair people and life can be towards her, because she is being punished for something her cousin started, by picking on her. Miss Abbot and Bessie already have a bad opinion of Jane, and with this bad action she is open to the worst punishment in her eyes possible, the Red room, and to make Jane more afraid Miss Abbott says "say your prayers, Miss Eyre, where you are by yourself, for if you don't repent something bad might be permitted to come down the chimney and fetch you away", by saying this actually being in the room has been made worse something more to be afraid of. Charlotte BrontÃÆ'Â «'s description of the red room is sombre, full of darkness and mystery, but to Jane a frightening room, but this is most due to the talk about it previous to being in it. The room is described with "red" being the main surrounding feature of the room,