An Ounce of Cure Essay

There comes a time in every person’s life when they reach the point where they are no longer a child, but an adult. â€Å"coming of age† is not something that usually happens in one exact moment but a gradual experience. In Alice Munro’s â€Å"An Ounce of Cure†, the narrator recalls her past as a teenager. During these years, she experiences heart-wrenching situations that no one her age should ever have to experience. Though, this leads to her â€Å"crossing the bridge of innocence†. Although â€Å"coming of age† is a positive turn, it requires negative experiences to be complete. The narrator endeavors the â€Å"coming of age† through her poor relationship choices, depression and irresponsibility. The narrator’s complicated relationship with her previous boyfriend, Martin Collingwood, triggers a lot of complex situations, which ultimately leads to her rapid maturity. This becomes evident in the story when she reflects on her relationship and realizes all its faults. â€Å"It doesn’t really surprise me- to remember all the stupid, sad, half-ashamed things I did, that people in love always do† (Munro 79). It becomes clear that the narrator realizes that the poor relationship, she was involved in is all a mistake. Being able to realize the mistake, indicates her maturity. She now understands that it is not worth spending her life in regret for her previous actions and moves on. Similarly, the narrator explains her feelings towards Martin after her breakup, â€Å"But there was a positive, a splendidly unexpected result†¦I got completely over Martin Collingwood† (84). Although Martin, being the narrator’s first boyfriend, she is quickly able to overcome her sorrow, misery and self-inflicted pain that she went through during the past days. This would seem difficult for her considering it was her first love, as well as her constantly recalling back to the moment they kissed, â€Å"I would torture myself with the exact recollection of Martin kissing my throat† (80). All the problems and situations caused by her past relationship has resulted in a deep depression that the narrator suffers for days to come. The narrator’s inability to get over her previous relationship, leads to her downfall that she encounters. Accordingly, when the narrator sees her previous boyfriend in a school play, she begins to reflect on her past. â€Å"The beginning of months of real, if more or less self inflicted misery for me† (77). The narrator experiences suicidal thoughts, being the true reason that she becomes an adult. However, there is a silver lining to her depression. Experiencing such feelings at a young age helps her to mature and grow quicker than most. She is able to come to terms with herself and accept that what happened, happened for reasons that are beyond her control. One would never be able to admit that they cause themselves misery, as the narrator did. Likewise, when the narrator comes home after babysitting the night of the incident, she explains what happened to her mother. â€Å"I told her everything from the start, not omitting even the name of Martin Collingwood and my flirtation with the aspirin bottle, which was a mistake† (80). It becomes evident that the narrator has gone through serious depression and ultimately suicide in a desperate escape to end her misery. Having the ability to come out in the open during her conversation with her mother and explaining the situations that she has been through demonstrates without a reasonable doubt that she grew not only mentally, but psychologically as an adult. Her immense courage is revealed when she comes to terms with her situation in the conversation between her and her mother. The depression that the narrator experiences contributes to her experiencing the â€Å"coming of age† and leads to her irresponsibility, being the final reason for the narrator to experience â€Å"coming of age† â€Å"Coming of age† exists through the narrator’s irresponsibility. While babysitting at the Berrymans alcohol seems to be her escape. â€Å"I poured a little whisky from each bottle†¦I drank it off as quickly as possible† (79). This demonstrates lack of discipline. This situation has allowed the narrator to mature, it allows her to be able to recognize that she was completely responsible for everything that happened that day. Similarity, after Mr. and Mrs. Berryman came home, the narrator realizes why she is unable to hear them at the driveway. â€Å"With the noise we were making, they have no doubt heard us as soon as they got out of the car† (80). The narrator experienced the coming of age because she is able to understand her friends and her irresponsibility that night, by realizing that the reason they had not heard the Berrymans was because of the loud noises they were making. Being able to understand one’s own irresponsibility takes a good amount of knowledge and understanding, that a child would not be able to process, demonstrating the narrator is experiencing the â€Å"coming of age†. Relationships, depression and irresponsibility has shaped the way that the narrator experiences â€Å"coming of age†. All the events that occurred in her life shape the way she lives today. Her rough relationship taught her how to deal with depression situations and overcome them herself. It also showed the narrator things about her self that she may not have known. Lastly, the narrators’ irresponsibility while babysitting was a subliminal cry for help, but truly it was the one step for her towards experiencing â€Å"coming of age†. Ultimately, without the narrator experiencing the negative experiences in her life, her â€Å"coming of age† would not have been complete.