Ave Zakai Taylor-Kelley -- Childhood vs. Adulthood

  I don't necessarily disagree with anything you say here.  But
  your paper stays on a very superficial level recounting points
  from the plot of the novel instead of "digging in" to explain
  the ways that John Grady Cole shows how he has grown up
  as a result of his experiences in Mexico.  The one time where you 
  get close to doing that is the comparison between the two crossings 
  of the Rio Grande River.  That is a good example, but it is something 
  we discussed in class.  I was hoping that everyone would develop 
  their own thinking about the novel by addressing the questions
  in one of these writing prompts and I don't see that you did much
  of that.  

  Here's an example of the kind of thing I was hoping for.  If you 
  go back and look at his conversation with the judge in Texas at the end of
  the novel you will see that John Grady is seeking reassurance or
  validation for all of the times he has had to do something he does not
  feel comfortable about:

     - not helping Blevins when he might have
     - the way he went against Don Hector's wishes in his relationship
       with Alejandra (which he thinks was a betrayal of the trust Don 
       Hector showed him in hiring him)
     - killing the "cuchillero" in the prison
     - taking the Captain hostage and wanting to kill him too

  Showing that kind of moral sense and being able to acknowledge that his
  actions have been questionable in multiple situations seems like a big 
  piece of evidence to say he has grown up. 

  Content:  B-

  Mechanics:  B+