Book Reading #15: Coming of Age in Samoa

Reference Information

Title: Coming of Age in Samoa

Author: Margaret Mead

Editor: Harper Perennial, 1928 (1971)

Chapter 5: The Girl and Her Age Group
Summary
This chapter discussed how groups are formed among children of a particular age range. For younger girls and boys, they are limited to small groups within their neighboring households and relatives, separated by gender. As age increases, the girls result to smaller friendships according to relations, while the boys remain in looser, neighborhood groups. The groups gradually change as they get older, coming to be more groups based on title and personal gain than nearness.


Discussion
I found it interesting that the young children were expected to make friends with other children their age that lived around them, and generally disliked other groups, but when they moved to another group they were readily accepted since they were then part of the neighborhood. Also, it was interesting that the boys were allowed to keep more permanent friendships and fun-focused groups for longer than the girls.