Coming of Age

Paul is the main character of the story and the one that most exemplifies this theme. Paul ages only a few months over the course of the story but there are references to Paul as a youngster of five, meaning the reader has glimpses of Paul over a seven-year period of his life. There does not seem to be a great deal of change until the last month of the book. Paul is a quiet child and accepts that his parents, especially his father, are wrapped up in what Paul calls the "Erik Fisher Football Dream." Paul is aware of this but accepts it without question for a long time. There comes a time when Paul is angry at the situation and asks his father to cite Erik's records over the past football season. His father can do that without giving it any thought but cannot...