Adolescence in a War Time Environment Hilary Wong 9th Grade

Adolescence is a time when teenagers learn to become more independent, become more understanding, and, most importantly, discover themselves and who they are. But that’s not always the case; when the adolescent’s circumstances are abnormal, their experiences and their maturing processes become abnormal, too. With the examples of Elie Wiesel, Anne Frank, and Jeanne Wakatsuki, we can see that growing up in a wartime environment plays a definite role in the process of maturing and becoming an adult. These authors all at one point or another become self-centered, and this aids them with discovering themselves. They are also very forgiving in terms of their treatment and at times, they could even feel that they deserve this type of injustice. And lastly, they also distance themselves from the people that they used to adore and this causes them to become very independent and isolated from the outside world as if they weren’t already. We can already clearly see the differences between growing up in a safe environment and growing up with constant gunfire going off outside the window, but we can see the difference even more clearly by asking ourselves, “How might have these individuals been different if they were to grow up without...