Robert Cormier's coming of age story “ The Moustache” is a story of growth. Mike a 16 year old boy has a grandma in a nursing home. She dreads a terrible day. Mike has a moustache like his dead grandfather and is mistaken for him. His grandma then asks for forgiveness, thinking he is her lost husband. One lesson learned is that growth can make you do or say things that may seem right at first but aren't right in the end. As Mike's grandmother sees Mike Cormier uses descriptive details to show how they are mistaken. Using time as a factor to show how she would think this. Cormier has Mike describe his grandfather, say “ I recalled my grandfather as tall and thin. Like me.” Also, saying that “He was thirty-five when he died, almost forty years ago. And he wore a moustache. I also wore a mustache. This shows the resemblance of the two, even after almost forty years. Even though Mike hasn’t aged all his grandma has been thinking about is her husband, and reacts when he looks just a little bit like him. …show more content…
Saying “ She’s somebody. She;s my grandmother, all right, but she's also herself. Like my own mother and father. They exist outside of their relationships to me. I was scared again. I wanted to get out of there.” Cormier uses short and long sentences to show the meaning of how Mike now sees his grandma. Mike becomes scared of the outcome of the conversation thinking he will hurt his grandma where he can see it. This also shows that she has feelings left in her body and this mean everything to her. Cormier also shows how Mike feels about this when he says “ I saw love at work. Not movie love. Not Cindy's sparkling eyes when I tell her that we're going to the beach Sunday afternoon. But love like something alive and tender, asking nothing in return. Also using short sentences to show the affection he