'The Painted Bird' is certainly a unique coming of age story. It
tells the tale of a young boy seperated from his family in the
early days of WWII and his ensuing travels and tribulations. He
wanders about the countryside of rural Europe among the uneducated
and exceedingly superstitious peasantry. His appearance is such
that he is welcome nowhere; yet everywhere he finds some form of
shelter and "family".
In 'The Painted Bird' there are many themes and morals. Most are
easily discerned and could easily be seen as the crux of the books
missive. Among these are the wretchedness of humanity,
anti-sematism, the nature of suffering, the will to survive, and of
course the eponymous one. More obfuscatory is the joy of youth and
of simply being. Throughout descriptions of what can only be
described as inexpiable acts this moral is one which is easily
missed. The antipathy inspired by the anecdotal narrative could
easily incite rejection of even the possibility of a positive
aspect, but therein also can it be found.
It is in the protagonists intractable perspective of his trials as
nothing more than condign events which could be justified through
the knowlege of their meaning that this moral is promulgated. It is
the search for this knowledge which motivates him. In this search
he becomes so mutable that his voice is lost, thus preventing any
unintentional perversion of this ultimate truth. This is also the
moment in which the simple joy of being and elation in the senses
becomes hedonistic, even salacious. Not long after these events he
relents in his search for truth and meaning and instead begins the
process of spiritual and ethical stagnation. His voice is then
recovered, thus revealing his belief that he might change the world
to suit himself rather than the inverse. Having 'come of age' in
this way, his attestation ends.