Coming-of-Age

This is a "coming-of-age" story, in the sense that Simon's experiences function as a rite of passage, from boyhood to manhood. Simon's development, over the course of the story, begins when he is a "small" boy, rescuing the falcon from the mast. Two years later, at seventeen, he has significantly matured, physically: "Simon had been small for his age all his life, but this last winter he had grown, and had become strong of limb." Yet, at this point, Simon is still a boy. However, the acts of killing a man (Ivan) and kissing a girl (Nora) function as rites of passage, ushering him into full manhood. After he leaves Nora, Simon enters a house where a group of people are dancing. It is at this point that he experiences a shift in his consciousness, from that of a boy to that of a man:

These five minutes...