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Examples Of Coming Of Age In The Round House

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A Coming-of-Age at Only Age 13 Imagine killing a man for the security of your family. That's exactly what 13-year-old Joe Coutts did. Louise Erdrich's The Round House comprises of Joe's coming-of-age story, who attempts to fix a distressing situation his family is in. Through this, Joe finds himself in various events which change his perception of life and of himself. Joe barely turned 13 in the beginning of the summer of 1988, but is pushed into a life-changing situation which devastates the entire family. The attack first affects the Coutts family when Geraldine begins suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and she isolates herself from Joe and Bazil, leading to the disconnection of the family. Joe is upset about how he now leads …show more content…

This is a reflection of who Joe was in the beginning of the book, where he was just another kid with no worries. It is ironic because of who Joe has developed into and what he's been through. However, by the end of the chapter, Joe is portrayed as a child who is dependent on his parents to bring him back home. His young age is an obstacle but it also provides some protection as he would be tried as a juvenile and no one really suspects him. 13-year-old Joe is already making well-advanced decisions that no regular 13-year-old would be making at this age. He withholds crucial information from the FBI, goes against his parents's wishes of not getting involved with the attack, plans to and eventually murders Linden Lark, and knows where to hide the gun after committing the …show more content…

He feels the aftereffects of killing a man when he begins having nightmares every night of Linden coming after him and Cappy. He is frustrated when his parents don't realize the burden he now bears due to what he's done for their protection and happiness: "I had stopped them from living in the fear cloud. I should have felt happy watching them across the table, but instead I was angered by their ignorance. Like I was the grown-up and the two of them holding hands were the oblivious children" (305). However, the aftermath of the attack leaves all of them greatly aged and worn out. The novel ends with Joe recalling a roadside café before crossing the reservation

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