THE TRANSITION from childhood to adulthood is a challenging and universal experience, oftentimes accompanied by feelings of torment, but ultimately, satisfaction. A characteristic way of exploring such a process of human development is the coming-of-age genre. From classic texts such as Demian to contemporary films such as Blue is the Warmest Color, a child’s moment of realization that he or she is no longer one has been a concept of interest for many over time. In the spirit of having a reflective transition into our university lives this fall semester, analyzing and comparing such works from literature and film may render substantial insights into what it truly means to evolve. 

About the coming-of-age genre

   Stories of the coming-of-age genre depict the transition from childhood to adulthood of a character, always covering a rite of passage in the storyline. The protagonists are necessarily young adolescents who must overcome obstacles—personal conflicts such as identity or interpersonal ones such as defying an authority figure—whilst navigating the partition between childhood and adulthood[1]. The term “coming-of-age” is often used interchangeably with “bildungsroman.” However, the difference between them is that in the latter, the story must follow a structure whereby the protagonist transitions from a lost child to a mature adult[2]. In contrast, the coming-of-age genre need not conclude with the protagonist becoming a mature adult but rather emphasize a specific change through which he or she has been changed forever at the mercy of time.

Sinclair’s pursuit of unhappiness in Demian by Hermann Hesse

   The novel Demian was published in 1919 and was written by the late German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter Hermann Hesse. The main character is Emil Sinclair, a young boy living in a comfortable household with a loving family. Nonetheless, he often feels tempted to leave such comforts and embrace the unknown—and along with it, the immoral and harmful. Throughout his journey to understand his desire for both light and dark, he meets Max Demian—a senior who influences him substantially into not evading his soul’s pull towards darkness. In this novel, the world consists of lightness and darkness; growing up entails becoming a rebellious and independent thinker by which one can escape this binary and synthesize it according to his or her own preferences. Demian invites the readers to lead a life of continuous evolution of one’s independent thinking. While such an endeavor leads to unhappiness and torment, it is the only means of escape from humans’ eternal struggle between light and dark, good and evil.

   The process of becoming an independent thinker is referred to in the book as “the path that leads man to himself.” As Sinclair reflects, “There was no duty, none, for a conscientious man, except to find himself, to establish himself within himself ... [3].” This is symbolized through the iconic image of a "bird with the yellow head of Sparrowhawk, hatching from the shell that is the world.” For instance, Sinclair asks Demian whether there exists a definite separation between what is “prohibited” and what is “permitted” which humans could simply follow. Demian makes the following remarks to Sinclair: “What is ‘prohibited’ is not eternal; it can vary ... He who is too comfortable to think for himself and be guided by his own judge, is subjected to prohibitions just as he finds them ... Each must respond to oneself[3].” Either when dealing with prohibitions or any other matter, the self-reflection process that renders one with his or her own moral compass is akin to breaking the shell one is trapped inside. It is only through finding oneself and establishing oneself within that we can begin to consolidate the appeal to both good and evil inside of us.

   According to Demian, humans’ innate division between good and evil inevitably renders them at the mercy of consolidating the light and dark qualities of the world through independence in thought. While one can feel “happy” by merely following what others appear to be thinking and doing, and while pursuing independence of thought only leads to suffering and unhappiness, it is what ultimately ignites development. Sinclair begins to fathom the complexity of such a task through the following question: “I was just trying to live what I was fighting to get out of myself, why was it so difficult[3]?” This indicates that while maturing is a daunting task for Sinclair, it is ingrained in him to go through that process. Otherwise, he would be negating what he is “fighting to get out of himself.” Indeed, Pistorius—a wise old man Sinclair meets along the way—mentions the importance of acknowledging our own internal struggle to live a life that, while more abundant in afflictions, is also closer to reality. He tells Sinclair, “There is no more reality than the one we carry inside. That is why most human beings live so unreally; because they believe that external images are reality and do not allow their own inner world to manifest[3].” Pistorius demonstrates the importance of the independence of thought through the concept of reality whereby maturing is creating one’s own reality, rather than forever remaining in an un-reality created by an unknown person. Thereafter, Sinclair, while surrounded by “a profound and inevitable solitude” for the rest of his days, endeavors to live a life that gradually becomes truer to his inner workings of lightness and darkness.  

   Demian is a distinctive novel in the coming-of-age genre because of its message that growing up is, above all, a gruesome fight with oneself. The protagonist Sinclair meets influential people, such as his family, Max Demian, and Pistorius, that guide him in his journey. Nonetheless, given that such a journey entails, above all, independently discerning lightness from darkness, right from wrong, it is up to Sinclair only to embrace the gloomy realities of maturing and let unhappiness lead towards a deeply rooted passion for discovering the world on his own terms. 

Milkman Dead’s flight towards the subtleties of truth in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

   The novel Song of Solomon was published in 1977 and was written by the late American author Toni Morrison. The main character is Milkman Dead, a young African American boy who grows up being loved by many members of his family. However, upon learning that humans cannot fly, he succumbs to a state of nonchalance that lasts for years to come. The plot rises when Milkman decides to leave his hometown in Michigan. In the process of leaving, he discovers a bag of bones that lead him to find purpose in life by tracing his family’s past. He learns how his great-grandfather escaped slavery by learning how to fly and flew back to Africa, leaving his wife and children behind. Eventually, Milkman leaps against Guitar, who attempted to murder him and ended up murdering Pilate, hence learning how to fly. Like Demian, the protagonist must deal with a certain “truth” as a means of growing up. However, in Song of Solomon, such endeavors towards veracity surround the history of Milkman’s ancestors. 

   According to Song of Solomon, the world of adults is more fanciful than that of children: adults often get caught up in fantasies because they are afraid of the truth. Truly growing up entails breaking away from those fantasies and excavating the truth in them. The protagonist Milkman is differentiated from his parents through his lack of fantasies. 

    Due to the dehumanizing state in which Milkman’s father, Macon, causes his wife, Ruth, to live, Ruth develops an illusion over a large water mark on her fine mahogany table. She can acknowledge her existence through such mark: “Like the keeper of the lighthouse and the prisoner, she regarded [the water mark] as a mooring, a checkpoint, some stable visual object that assured her that the world was still there; that this was life and not a dream. That she was alive somewhere, inside, which she acknowledged to be true only because a thing she knew intimately was out there, outside herself[4].” In addition to her fantasy over her table, Ruth also allows herself to feel affection and wonder in life by breastfeeding her son past the age of four. As described by the book, “[Milkman’s] restraint, his courtesy, his indifference, all of which pushed her into fantasy. She had the distinct impression that his lips were pulling from her a thread of light. It was as though she were a cauldron issuing spinning gold[4].” On the other hand, Macon fed his imagination through fabricated details of his memories to deepen his hatred towards his wife. 

   Milkman stands in distinction to his mom and dad—who are full of fantasies that cover up some unresolved truth about their lives—because he has none. His only “fantasy” is broken at the age of four and holds no interests thereafter that are strong enough to make him lie to himself—create fantasies. His flight towards truth as a means of maturing is foreshadowed by the following: “As the stars made themselves visible, Milkman tried to figure out what was true and what part of what was true had anything to do with him[4].” 

   Furthermore, Milkman’s growth is characterized by the subtleties about truth that he learns throughout the years. For instance, upon physically confronting his father on beating his mother, Milkman is told by Macon that he beats his wife because she had an incestual relationship with her father. “You want to be a whole man, you have to deal with the whole truth[4],” says Macon to Milkman. Through this conversation with his father, Milkman comes to understand that the truth goes beyond a vocalized statement that it is so and is an inner journey to understand his past in order for it to guide his present. Upon a childhood built on pseudo-truths, the coming-of-age protagonist embarks on a journey to pursue information on his ancestors. 

Adele’s intimate fruition in Blue is the Warmest Color by Abdellatif Kechiche

   The film Blue is the Warmest Color was released in 2013 and was directed by French-Tunisian actor, film director, and screenwriter Abdellatif Kechiche. The main character is Adele, a beautiful teenage girl whose friends are rooting for her to establish a formal relationship with a handsome senior, Thomas. However, all becomes obsolete when Adele meets the blue-haired, eccentric, and rapturous Emma. The film emphasizes the intimate nature of maturing, as portrayed through the protagonist becoming of a sexual being, falling madly in love, and propping herself up in dignity regardless of life’s circumstances. 

   The film’s extremely close-up shots not only establish more confidence between the scenes and the watchers, but also emphasize the deeply intimate growing up process. We see Adele’s face as she feasts on pasta, the outer rim of her mouth becoming all red. We see Adele’s face as she munches on a chocolate bar crying. The surplus of saliva generated from crying, as well as the caramel inside the chocolate cling from her two front teeth, like strands. Such instances are not merely disgusting close-ups of a teenager eating; they depict the innocence behind youth’s carelessness. Through camera close-ups from which one only sees the face and the upper neck, the spectator easily perceives the intensity of emotion when Adele is humiliated by rejection or feels overwhelmed by curious and gossipy peers. 

   Furthermore, the film’s montage does not have a cause-and-effect relationship. That is, the close-up shots do not show later repercussions on Adele’s adulthood. Rather, the purpose of such intimate scenes is to honor the deeply intimate emotions that growing up brings about. “Deeply intimate” should be emphasized, for it describes the privacy of the feelings, felt by the protagonist only. No one around her knows—and many do not even care about—the shame, the overwhelmed state, and the humiliation she is vulnerable to. Through such private exchanges between the protagonist and the spectators, one realizes that growing up is growing intimate with oneself. 

   While the film’s sex scenes have been criticized for being too explicit and catering towards the “male gaze,” the inclusion of them is logical for the flow of the film, for it reveals how Adele becomes progressively comfortable with using her body as that of a sexual being. Adele’s first sexual experience is with her then-boyfriend Thomas. The explicit portrayal of sex reveals how, although Adele carried on with the sexual act, her enjoyment and body movements were stiff and performative. Her demeanor is more akin to that of someone attempting to complete a task, rather than someone who is immersed in the joys and pleasures of making love. Her first sexual encounter with Emma is completely different, for Adele desires the other body in front of her. Because it was her first time with someone she cared about, the sex is notoriously awkward at times. Nonetheless, her body gradually becomes more predisposed to receive and give pleasure. Through the explicitness of such sex scenes, one can see the magnitude to which Adele’s body can disrupt her usual, self-contained self and become nothing but a body at the mercy of sensations and pleasure. The scenes demonstrate how the body’s instincts and the self’s inhibitions struggle to exist over one another in the process of growing up. 

   The coming-of-age film shows the paradox of love, wherein falling deeply in love is essential to the maturing process, yet the protagonist must also learn how to exist independently of her lover. Sometime after Emma breaks up with Adele, the latter is swimming in the ocean. As she tilts her body horizontally to float, her hair turns blue as it is embraced by the blue water, like Emma’s hair. Such a visual effect demonstrates Adele’s deep love for Emma. She desires to plunge into Emma’s being to the point of becoming a part of her body. Indeed, upon their breakup, Adele’s lifestyle is disrupted, for she depends on Emma to exist. Her body is not a body without Emma’s touch. Her being is not a being until Emma’s reckoning of it. As late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish once said, “You are killing me, and you are keeping me from dying. That is love.” 

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   The coming-of-age genre is a way in which works of literature and film explore the transition from childhood to adulthood. Through Demian, one can learn that such change, while leading to anything but tranquility, and rather causing intense torment, is the only way in which we can connect with the depths of ourselves. Through Song of Solomon, one understands the value of facing life with its true colors. Blue is the Warmest Color throws the viewers into the depths of love, passion, and everything in between. Altogether, these three works render a symphony of the coming-of-age genre—one rich in emotion and inviting us to lay at the mercy of our innermost desires, of our drive towards truth, and love. 

[1] Raindance Film Festival

[2] Masterclass

[3] Demian

[4] Song of Solomon