On Being the Professor's Kid and Leaving Home for College

So, as we know, in On Beauty both Victoria and Zora go to school where their fathers' teach. Not just work, not even just teacher (not make teaching sound all that simple, but you know), but have this huge, talked about, on-going argument. And while not everyone knows, it has to effect their (already vastly different) social experiences.

As the post below me talks about, a big part of college is the social aspect. How major of an aspect is up for discussion, but you can't put a whole bunch of young people in one place and not expect some kind of dynamic to emerge. And to me, that at least part of the point. We've discussed this [American?] phenomenon in class-- why do we feel the need to make college the time to strike out and away from home and comfort/? So, as we know, in On Beauty both Victoria and Zora go to school where their fathers' teach. Not just work, not even just teacher (not make teaching sound all that simple, but you know), but have this huge, talked about, on-going argument. And while not everyone knows, it has to effect their (already vastly different) social experiences.

As the post below me talks about, a big part of college is the social aspect. How major of an aspect is up for discussion, but you can't put a whole bunch of young people in one place and not expect some kind of dynamic to emerge. And to me, that at least part of the point. We've discussed this [American?] phenomenon in class-- why do we feel the need to make college the time to strike out and away from home and comfort? In On Beauty, Jerome chooses to go to Brown over Wellington but Zora decides to stay at home. I think this is reflected in her maturity. Sure, academics wise she's on top of her game, but Zora seems me to be a bit behind the curve of maturity. I feel like she would have been better served to try and make it a bit more on her own, especially because of her father. While Zora seems to relishes the insider-info she has (or pretends to have, in some cases), I feel like I would hate it. It seems to me that college is at least somewhat about finding your own way, learning to navigate the university bureaucracy, etc. Although Zora doesn't have her way paved easily, its a difference and seems to me less valuable experience.