Coming of Age in Somoa Margaret Mead's "Coming of Age in Samoa", which was actually her doctoral thesis, was compiled over a six-month period starting in 1925 Through it, people were getting a glimpse into a society unaffected by the problems of 20th century industrial America. It illustrated a picture of a society where love was available on demand and crime was dealt with by exchanging a few mats. This book helps to understand the great role played by the social environment. One of Mead's greatest challenges was probably the fact that her fieldwork was conducted entirely in the Samoan language. In Samoa, few, if any, natives spoke English. To gain information, Mead spent her time talking to about 25 Samoan women. However, he devoted much of his attention to two young Samoan women, Fa'apua'aFa'amu and Fofoa. It is said that the life of one Samoan woman is very similar to that of the next. At the time of her visit to Samoa, Mead, a graduate student, was only 23 years old. He was slightly older than the girls he interviewed and affectionately called them “cheerful companions”. The vision received while reading “Coming of Age in Samoa” is that it is a place where one lives with almost no stress. Children move through adolescence without the many pressures placed on adolescents in an industrial America: ...adolescence did not represent a period of crisis or stress, but was instead an orderly development of a set of interests and activities which matured slowly (95). Mead, families are large, taboos and restrictions are few, and disagreements are resolved by giving away mats. The stress faced by American teenagers is unknown to their Samoan counterparts. Mead calls premarital sex the “pastime par excellence” of young Samoans. He writes that Samoa is a virtual paradise of free love, as young people from 14 until marriage have nothing on their minds but sex. Of Samoan girls Mead says: She drives away virtuosity from herself just as she drives away from herself every other type of responsibility with the invariable comment “Laitit a'u” (“I am but young”). All his interest is concentrated on clandestine sexual adventures (33). Explain that growing up can be free, easy and uncomplicated. Romantic love in Samoa is not tied to the ideas of monogamy, exclusivity, jealousy and loyalty like in America. Evidently, due to the lack of private...... middle of paper......hon. After a girl is eight or nine years old she has learned not to approach a group of older boys. However, when it comes to younger kids, they are taught to antagonize. Boys are considered “bigger” after being circumcised. When a girl looks for her first lover, she looks for an older man, most often a widower or divorced man. There are two types of sexual relationships other than marriage recognized by Samoans. These include love affairs between young unmarried people and even adultery. Although virginity is not expected of girls, Mead says this defiantly increases their attractiveness. Basically, having sex with a virgin is much more of a feat for a man than having sex with a girl who isn't. Marriage in Samoa is considered a social and economic arrangement where the relative wealth, rank and ability of both the husband and wife must be considered. In conclusion, Margaret Mead's thesis on Samoa is still interesting after 75 years. The customs of the Samoans, especially those regarding sex, are very interesting to people of other cultures. This society bases much of its consideration on love and happiness and appears to have been successful in achieving it