Will Grayson, Will Grayson Theme of Coming of Age

Ah, to be young. Well, not too young… After all, when you're just a kid, you have to deal with all these tough coming-of-age issues. Who am I? What am I going to be? How can I move forward in life? Both Will and will are anxious to leave childish things behind in Will Grayson, Will Grayson, but can they really? Will these two guys stay stuck in their same ruts, or will they grow up, learn something, and become real, honest-to-goodness men? We have our fingers crossed for much of the book, but in the end, we uncross them with confidence that these two are well on their way.

Questions About Coming of Age

  1. Why does Will feel stuck in his childhood with Tiny as a best friend?
  2. What do you think is the most mature thing will does in the end of the story? Makes amends with Tiny? Or forgives Maura? Or something else? Back up your answer with evidence from the text.
  3. Which Will Grayson do you think has changed the most at the end of the book? Why this Will Grayson and not the other? Be specific, yo.

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Will might pretend to be older, but he still has a lot to learn about love. Maybe that's why his fake ID doesn't end up displaying the age he wants it to…

By the end of the story, will is able to let go of his past and present disappointments to look toward the future, something he was never able to do before. Score.