Ice Cream!
During Sag Harbor Benji
decides he needs to get a summer job so that he can buy himself food since his
parents are working most of the time and therefore not in their summer house. Benji’s
job and Reggie’s job become a pretty central part of the story. Almost all of
their friends have jobs and the summer job becomes kind of necessary to survive
on their own over the summer. We’ve read a lot of coming-of-age books this
semester and I think it’s interesting that this is the first one where the
summer job comes up.
At the
beginning of the semester we had a notebook prompt where we had to write about
what coming-of-age meant to us. I wrote about how coming-of-age wasn’t
necessarily defined by one moment but that a lot of smaller moments contributed
to coming-of-age. I said that getting my first job that I had wanted since I
was twelve was a big moment in terms of coming-of-age for me. Getting a job
meant a lot of independence. It meant that I had to be mature. My parents
weren’t there to help me or cover up for me when I messed up. In addition, I
was being paid which meant I actually had my own money to spend.
I’m
surprised that the teenage job hasn’t come up until now. Getting a job is a
pretty big coming-of-age moment. In Sag
Harbor Benji is sort of forced to get a job because he needs to buy food
but it’s also something all his friends are doing, even his younger brother
Reggie. It’s not necessarily something that Benji likes doing and he definitely
describes it as a chore. The only part he really seems to like is the free ice
cream and getting to hang out with his friends. Nevertheless, it is something
he has to do because he has to feed himself somehow. It sort of seems like
Benji and his friends have entered into the drudgery of adulthood for the first
time during that summer. They would all rather hang out with each other and goof
off but they have an obligation to work. It seems like this is the first summer
where Benji and his friends have to take on some adult responsibilities, which
come in the form of work.
On another
note, I just started working at an ice cream shop and unlike Benji I don’t get
unlimited free ice cream, which makes me kind of jealous of him. But at least
this way I’ll never get sick of ice cream.
You bring up a cool point in this scene about how coming-of-age moments we experience are very significant to us but we may not think too much about them. Like you said getting a job is a big one, but a I'm sure the first thing most people think after getting their first job is probably similar to Benji appreciating the free stuff and extra spending money rather than a moment of personal growth.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am quite surprised that no one mentioned the whole getting-a-job thing as a coming-of-age thing, like the car privileges are. I got a summer lifeguarding job shortly after getting my driver's license, so it was kind of a double-whammy of new opportunities and I felt a lot more independent, but also oddly young for the position, as most of the others were college students who'd had jobs before and lived on their own. It was really new but rather crucial in my (still-limited) understanding of responsibility, and kind of freeing, in a way. Also, congrats on the ice cream job! Hope you find a way to smuggle some for yourself...
ReplyDeleteHahaha I can't wait to see you at the red bicycle! I think getting your first job is a big step forward. You are become more independent and have money that you earned. I was reading more about the book and apparently Benji works there for three years. I think this really shows how big Jonni Waffle was in Benjis like and what type of impact it made on him.
ReplyDeleteOoh nice you get to smell ice cream all day. Or at least bask in it's aura? I don't know if ice cream has a smell. I agree that getting a job is a big experience because you are no longer expected to make mistakes. It isn't your time to learn anymore--now you have to grind out the expectation. As a kid my parents always implied that they would be there to support me and get me the things i needed, so my perception of getting a job is probably different from others.
ReplyDeleteI might be getting my first job this summer and I am both nervous and excited. It is so true that one important moment of coming-of-age is getting a job and that usually happens around the same time that the person is able to drive. It really shows how Benji has grown and in the book, his father actually says that he is a man now, and that shows how leaving them on their own isn't a really bad thing. But, hey, that's debatable!
ReplyDeleteI did find it surprising that it wasn't until this book that no book focused on the milestones that we go through as teenagers that make us come of age in a way: getting your driver's license, getting your first job, prom, etc. So it was nice to read about Benji's summer and his experience as a teenager because you could really relate to how he was feeling compared to the other characters so far (well at least for me).
ReplyDeleteGetting a job is certainly an important moment in coming-of-age. Once you have your own job, you have to take responsibility for yourself in new ways. I just got my first real job at a pizza place, and it's kinda strange because everyone else who works there is like 25 or older. Going to work feels like entering the adult world, which is exciting but also slightly scary.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, getting a job is just another step towards independence from your parents. And I think that's what the coming of age process really is for a lot of people--becoming an autonomous being. Having the power to make your own decisions, to have control over your life.
ReplyDelete