For the past two weeks, I've been reading the book A Tree Grows In Brooklyn,  by Betty Smith. Written mostly in the point of view of a young girl growing up in the slums of Brooklyn in the early 1900s, the book gives an incredible narrative of one girl's complete coming of age, from the moment of her birth to her late teens. While reading this book gave me many great ideas, the idea that I want to wrap up with is the idea that coming of age isn't something that happens at a specific time- it happens with necessity.
     You see, I believe that Francie (the main character) actually begins coming of age at a very young age. The first thing that alerted me to her coming of age was when the author describes a conversation between Francie and her father, whom she loves very dearly, despite the fact that he's a drunk. Her father says "I am not a happy man. I got a wife and children and I don't happen to be a hardworking man. I never wanted a family." It's little things like this that determine at what age you grow up. A girl who is disliked and abused by her parents is likely to become self- sufficient at a very early age, because that's how she becomes able to cope. On the other hand, a girl who's coddled by her parents, loved by everyone she meets, isn't likely to come of age quickly at all, because coming of age requires some kind of disappointment or realization that at some times in life, one needs to be self sufficient.
     Another reason Francie needed to grow up so quickly is because of where, when, and how she lived. Francie lived in the slums of Brooklyn in the early 1900s, and as a result, wasn't treated very nicely by some people. One example of this is when Francie went with her brother to get a mandatory flu vaccination at a free clinic. The upperclass doctor working there sees Francie's dirty arm and says to a nurse standing near, in front of Francie, "filth, filth, filth from morning to night. I know they're poor but they could wash. Water is free and soap is cheap. Just look at that arm nurse." The fact that he says this blatantly and in front of Francie proved to me that she grew up in a very different world then I did. In my world, if someone I didn't know ever said anything like that to me, it would be unacceptable, and completely rude. To Francie, however, it was just something some people said, and while it hurt her, she didn't really do anything to retaliate. The fact that she took abuse like that when she was so young makes me think that she must have come of age rather quickly, because it seems like it would have been the only way to cope.
     Overall, I don't feel that coming of age is something that happens at a definitive age. It's more like something that happens at a moment in one's life when it becomes a necessity, and that's all there is to it. For example, a child left on the streets may come of age as soon as they can walk and talk, for that's how they'll survive. On the other hand, a girl protected forever may never come of age. It is my opinion that it's all a matter of need.