Coming of Age

This is the novel's central theme, defining both its plot and the journey of transformation undertaken by its protagonist. "Coming of age" is a term generally used in literary and dramatic narrative to describe a story in which a character leaves behind the world, experiences and perspectives of childhood and becomes more of an adult. It is a story of maturation, of movement from innocence to knowledge and experience, terms which all define what the narrative recounts of Marnham's experiences in Berlin. He matures into a life of greater personal feeling, of greater knowledge of a wider range of relationships, and of greater awareness of bigger, national, and international issues. Like protagonists in many other stories of this thematic genre, Marnham also becomes more sexually experienced and at the same time, more intimately and immediately aware of death. In short, he receives an education in almost...