In Sonya Hartnett's novel, Butterfly, the idea of individual growth and self-transformation is portrayed through the adolescent experiences of the protagonist, Plum. Lingering between the threshold of childhood and womanhood, Plum struggles for appreciation and tries desperately to fit into social stereotypes. However, her transition is constantly challenged by hardships that eventually leave her in a wreckage, but it is also these experiences that teach her the realities of life and help her to mature and accept her true identity.

Plum's desire to fit into her environment leads to her insecurity and sense of disconnection from the individuals around her. She feels alienated and misunderstood by her friends, struggling desperately to form a false identity. Laying at the bottom of the social hierarchy in her …show more content…
When she discusses her possibility of becoming a model, she is cruelly confronted by her friends who sneer and criticise her appearance. Plum's response to this, however, was not of outrage but acceptance. "Plum is chuckling, as she absolutely must. Not being wounded by it, as she absolutely must not". In this sentence, the use of high modality in "absolutely must not", reflects her vulnerability and determination to please her friends. The agonised and somewhat hurtful tone she used, depicts her distress of having to adhere to expectations even when her social mask threatens to break. This fragility of Plum's is further emphasised when she forcefully convinces herself to become the guinea pig of her friend's immature acts reflected in "inside Plum there's a sonar whine of of fear, but she's thinking now, of the benefits-happiness, power". Even though Plum knows that