Coming of age. It’s not something that happens in an instant, it’s a gradual process that happens over time. It’s kind of like a large melting pot of emotions. A bit of anxiety, mixed with confusion and fear. Each individual’s pot is full of different and in some cases new emotions. These emotions are all ingredients that shape them into who they are as a person. Coming of age is a time of discovering who you are as a person. The question of identity will often spark within the individual and it will affect some more than others. Ultimately, the lasting effect it has on the individual is what makes it one of the most valuable times in a person’s life.
The novel, Maestro by Australian author, Peter Goldsworthy is an example of a coming of age …show more content…
In life as in music, arrogance can be a disadvantage. Keller becomes more of a fatherly figure than a teacher. He teaches Paul how to restrain ones excessive pride and also the importance of limitations as well as the uselessness of striving for the unattainable.
On a number of occasions throughout the text, Keller warns Paul about excessive arrogance and that “self-satisfied go no further”. Keller does this because he wants Paul to have the benefit of his own life experiences of being arrogant. He once believed that his musical genius was the reason why he had a ‘special’ relationship with the Nazi’s back in World War II which helped protect his Jewish wife and son from the gas chambers in the Holocaust. But he now believes that his arrogance during that time was the cause of their deaths.
Keller also teaches Paul about the importance of limitations. He reminds Paul that striving for unrealistic dreams can waste a large amount of time. Keller also advises him “to search too long for perfection can also paralyse” and the importance of being truthful. It is Keller’s advice to Paul during these piano lessons that contribute to his pot of emotions and experiences that help Paul become the man he is at the end of the