Notebook Prompt: A Coming-of-Age Novel?

If I Ever Get Out of Here might be categorized as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel (literally: "novel of education or growth"). These narratives often depict a young protagonist and their experiences in schools and with "education" more generally, as they struggle to define themselves and find their place in the world, and as we've discussed, school and the education system have been a rather fraught issue for Lewis and for the history of Native American people. As the novel concludes, what significant growth or development do you see in Lewis's character? Is he different in significant ways by the end of this nearly two-year story? Do you see evidence of Lewis "coming of age" over the course of this narrative? How can a reader measure something so abstract? What "threads" do you see in the novel that reflect or trace this development?

Take 5 minutes in your Notebook to contemplate any coming-of-age threads you see in this novel.