The Process of Socialization

Socialization is the procedure where a child slowly develops into an independent person. During the process, sociologists say that the main socialization happens at home. We reflect on ourselves in our parents. It is therefore central for children to have stable homes, with good values and love, which is the essence of this short story. The False Moon is written by the American writer, Shirley Golden, in 2011. In this assignment, I want to analyze the short story by looking at the narrator, the main character related to his mother, the title, and the symbols.

The short story is told by a first-person narrator, who is called Matt. On page 1, line 14, we get a physical description of the narrator, which helps us visualize how he looks: “I’m lanky, skinny, I’m told, with large eyes and lashes more suited to a girl”. We also get the impression of him being lazy and tired of life.  “It was easy not to care, and I wasn’t the sort to start a fight”.

Here we can feel how tired the narrator is of his living conditions. Matt is very fervent about painting, and this is the only thing which drives him, which you can see on page 3, line 103: “Nothing else is important, not checking in at registration, not the fact I’m covered in bruises from the gang down the road.” This quote shows that nothing else than painting is important in his life.

Shirley Moon

“I didn’t trust words, and that excluded me from most subjects; and I struggled with numbers, which barred me from the rest.

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But the lines were reliable. I’d always liked lines.” Here again, we get the impression that painting means everything to him since it typically consists of lines. In contrast, he tells the reader that he does not trust words, which could have something to do with his relationship to his mother because he thinks that most things she says to him is bullshit. The reason he likes lines so much is that…