Coming of Age

The book starts out focusing on Bobby's early childhood, and although it is not told in strictly chronological order, it generally progresses toward adulthood. The first symbol of Bobby's increasing maturity is that he gets more powerful guns as he shows that he can handle them, and not kill someone in an accident. At the beginning, Bobby thinks that the Old Man knows everything about the world, yet Bobby wants to ignore the philosophy, and just concentrate on what he can learn about hunting and fishing. As he grows, Bobby is trusted with hunting on his own, and he starts doing some of the jobs that his grandfather typically does. His coming of age is especially symbolized when he climbs on the back of Aphrodite, the sea turtle, and rides her out to sea. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of sexual love, and Bobby rides the...