Suicide In Teenage Wasteland By Donna Gaines

933 Words2 Pages

Suicide is a sensitive topic that many Americans confront on a regular basis. One of the many factors leading to suicide is depression, abuse, and stigma. Suicide can be impactful to a person’s loved one’s and their community. The book “Teenage Wasteland” by Donna Gaines, goes in depth, detailing the suicide pact that happened back in 1987 in Bergenfield, New Jersey. Gaines believed there was an epidemic with teenage suicide during that time. Two areas of the novel that I found interesting is their upbringing of the involved parties and how rehabilitation/deterrence played a role in their suicide pact. I believed their upbringings were heavily influenced by their relationship with their parents, school, the use of drugs and alcohol, and previous …show more content…

In Tommy’s Oltons case, his parents divorced, and his father committed suicide when he was fourteen. I believe that his father’s suicide affected him because he felt that he was cheated out of a relationship with his father during his teenage years. I also believe a young man needs his father during this time of age because they look to their father for guidance. Also what Tommy could not find at home, he would seek in the streets. Things that would fill the void of not having a father could be drugs and alcohol, which he found sanctuary …show more content…

I believe the school system should excel when it comes to helping and providing assistance to troubled youth. Three of the teenagers who committed suicide were dropouts also referred to as “burnouts”. This implies that the school system has failed in some type of way. I believe the burnouts view school as an intimidating environment because they have a history of being bullied and being put down by most of the school staff members, thus causing them to not go back. One way the school pushed these teens towards suicide is the fact that school would degrade teens that are doing poorly in school and lowering their self-esteem.
The use of drugs and alcohol is a major factor when it came to the suicide pack. Since these teens come from troubled homes, they found comfort in drugs and alcohol. Teenagers do not have many obligations during these years and do not have much of a rationale for acknowledging the consequences drugs and alcohol bring. The autopsies revealed that the four teens were drinking alcohol and consumed cocaine. I believe that alcohol and cocaine played a major role in their suicide pact because in a way it subdued their feelings and altered their mind state, provoking the thoughts of suicide and not backing out of

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