Joanna's Coming of Age Blog

After reflecting on the Head Patting Incident involving Martine, Benji Cooper mentions reading the work of W.E.B. DuBois, who introduced a concept known as "double consciousness." Essentially, DuBois describes double consciousness as the sensation of ".... always  looking at one's self through the eyes of others..." in addition to having two identities; " One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body."  When  first publishing the idea of double consciousness, DuBois describes the moment he became aware of his second conscience; "It dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil.” Although Benji may not have been able to put his feelings into words at the time of the original Incident, it seems that he is constantly aware of his blac...

Having read both  Black Swan Green and The Catcher in the Rye , I wonder how Jason Taylor and Holden Caulfield would interact with one another.  Since Holden and Jason are both teenage boys who are coming of age, I think they could potentially relate to each other a lot. Both characters are frequently influenced by their sisters; in The Catcher in the Rye , Phoebe ultimately shows Holden that he must rejoin society and in Black Swan Green , Julia's guidance helps Jason to realize that the Falklands war shouldn't happen. Holden and Jason are also hyper-aware of how various societies function. At 16, Holden knows that him and his peer's lives have already been planned out. At Jason's school, a strict social hierarchy dominates his perception of the world.  However, I don't think the two would necessarily get along. In some ways, Jason Taylor embodies the "phoniness" that Holden supposedly despises. For example, Jason hides his poetry behind the pseudonym ...