![]() After both are praised like an adult, James is the only one who feels like his class has gone up. Aside from the similarity that both characters could not have realized that they have become adults if it weren’t for their social class, there is a main disparity between James and Janie. For now, it will mostly likely be a long time before one would tell Janie that she is truly an adult. Parker praise her musical talents, if her family could not afford piano lessons in the first place. In the same way, Janie would not have had the chance to hear Mr. Furthermore, James’ mother would not have the opportunity to reaffirm that James is indeed a man, not a bum. If James’ family were wealthier, they would not need to walk home. However, when his mom sees what James has done, she scolds, “You not a bum, you a man” (Gaines 348). Since it was very cold outside, James turns up the collar of his jacket to keep his neck warm. Since James and his mother do not have enough money to ride a bus home, they decide that walking was the only solution. They are only considered “grown-ups” by a selected few of their social class. Moreover, James and Janie do not realize that they are indeed adults by being in a different society. Murchison does not believe her pupils are mature enough to play other, more decorated pieces composed by Bach or Beethoven. This book, in Janie’s mind, is a symbol that proves Mrs. Murchison’s students play music from “Little Classics for Children” (Colwin 70). Likewise, Janie believes that her old piano teacher treats her students like infants. The boy does not agree with her ideas, and so she begins to laugh at him and humiliate him. ![]() When James and his mother are waiting for theĭentist to call his name, they meet an elderly woman who expresses her feelings to a young boy, another patient at the dentist office. A similarity between these two characters is that they both think that many adults view young teenagers as adolescents who do not know anything about the world. Later when the subject is brought up again, she “stuck my fork into a potato to keep from crying and muttered melodramatically that I would rather hang myself before I’d go back to Mrs. Parker, she storms angrily out of the room. When her mother suggests that Janie should start taking piano lessons with Mrs. On the other hand, Janie does not try to help out her parents at all. For example, when James’ mother is about to take him to the dentist, he tries to back out of it by saying, “It ain’t hurting me no more, I can eat anything on it” (Gaines 324). Now, James never wants to cause trouble, and is always thinking of new methods to help out in his family. Only after “Auntie and Monsieur Bayonne talked to me and made me see” (Gaines 327) that if they did not kill the bird the family would have no dinner, James did not become so reluctant and naive. When James was young and was told to kill a small bird, he does not follow the command, as he is too afraid to kill such an innocent living creature. To begin with, the way each character thinks contributes to his/herĭevelopment. Parker, James’ and Janie’s social classes affect their behavior during their time of adolescence, which directly impacts the pathway each reach to adulthood. ![]() ![]() If one is less economical fortunate, he could show his development through personal independence. If one is wealthy, he can prove his maturity by buying and using expensive materials. Social class and standard affect the coming of age in anyone. Parker, Janie, a young girl, constantly strives to act like an adult and be regarded like one, but her parents always carry the image of a little girl in their minds. In The Sky is Gray, James, a young black boy, tries to convince his mother that his tooth is not bothering him so she will not have to spend money on him when it is already so scarce. Parker, by Laurie Colwin, two young children are desperately attempting to prove their maturity to society. In the short stories, The Sky is Gray, by Ernest J. “You are not an adult until you prove it.” Frank Moore Riley, a philosopher, asserts his theory that one is not considered a mature individual until they personally demonstrate to others that they are one.
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