Teenage Wasteland

328 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Relationship between teenagers and parents

The author in this story has tried hard to bring the problem of teenage runaways to the surface in order to shed light on its cause and possible solutions. The conflict that exists between the son. Donny and his mother Daisy reflects the kind of problems that many American families are facing today. It is extremely important to understand that while many people blame teenagers for their irrational and irresponsible behavior when their life doesn't turn out well, they completely forgot the importance of role played by parents and how it can have a profound impact on the child life. Donny's parents are not spending enough time with him. He is not getting the attention he wants from his parents. His mother Daisy spends more time with Donny's sister. When he started acting up, his parents got him a tutor. He started going over there three times a week and he liked going over there. His tutor Cal, paid attention to Donny. Donny liked having somebody pay attention to him. Donny listened to what he had to say. When he got expelled from school he went to Cal's house instead of his house. He thought that Cal understood him more then his mother. Cal was like a friend instead of a tutor. "Cal lent Donny an album of by The Who. He took Donny and two other pupils to a rock concert. In March, when Donny began to talk endlessly on the phone with a girl named Miriam, Cal even let Miriam come to one of the tutoring session."(Tyler 760). He is jealous of his sister and he is probably doing these things for attention. "Daisy remembered when Donny sister Amanda was born. Donny had acted lost and bewildered. Daisy had been alert to that, of course, but still, a new baby keeps you so busy" (Tyler 757).Donny just needs some attention and somebody to help him out in his problems. He just needs somebody to talk to about his problems. If they see their parents doing these things, then they are going to act on it. Teenagers look up to their parents. At the age Donny is he is going to be experimental and they are going to try new things out. He needs to experience things on his own.

Show More
Related

  • The Charmer By Budge Wilson

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    Growing up as a happy and popular young man, Zack creates himself a perfect reputation which left room for love and smothering from his mother and two sisters. His mother and sisters love him very much and show this love by being at his every beckoning. Winifred is no exception; the love for Zack is shown by the extraction, “How be you wash my bike for me, Pose, Love?” I would be halfway to the kitchen for bucket and rags before he stopped speaking. [And] I was Zachary’s willing slave. Slavery in fact, was a vogue in our house.”(Wilson,101). Zack from a very young age is overwhelmed with love and good deeds sent in his direction. He takes advantage of these kind gestures and never really appreciates what was being done for him. This lack of appreciation and constant smothering is noticed by his father at later stages in the story and creates a level of confliction between them throughout the story. His father makes the mistake of not saying anything about his disagreement with the way Zack is treated and allows the conflict to continue. “Even Dad took a long time to wake up. You wouldn’t think a fourteen – or sixteen-year-old-boy could hoodwink a father… [And] Dad would just leave the room and go out to his work shed and sit and rock and rock in that old chair of his.” (Wilson,103). His father new there was a problem but did not act on it until the situation reached its climax which resulted in Zack leaving home. The problem is allowed to escalate at the time. The father does not play as big of a role in Zack’s life. Due to mothers love for Zack she allows him to get away with a lot of things that most mothers would not. One day she baked a cake for the church bazaar and left a sign warning nobody to eat it. She came home to find a slice gone and realised it was Zack that took the slice.

    Read More

  • Shadows in Fifth Business

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever since the snowball accident Dunny has been preoccupied by worrying  over Mary Dempster, and now her son Paul.  At the age of sixteen the small town of Deptford becomes too much for Dunny to handle so he decides to drop out of secondary school and  join the Army.  Dunny needed a change in his life, something to get his mind off Mrs. Dempster and the guilt he felt for her.  Leading up to his departure to the War he never really saw much of Mary, mainly because Mr. Dempster told him to stay away, but also because every time him saw her he couldn't hold back feelings of guilt and remorse.  This troubled Dunny, much more then he would ever let on.  On the other hand, Boy was doing as well as ever, possibly due to the fact that he knew that much of the responsibility of Mary and Paul was securely on the shoulders of Dunny.   Dunny knew this as well but it was too late to do much about it except leave.

    Read More

  • Similiaries and Differences in Characters in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Two people with two completely different characteristics have something alike. Both Dally and Johnny are mentally tough because of their parents. Johnny and Dally’s parents both do not care for them and could care less about them. For example, during Dally’s childhood he went to jail, been in a gang, and has been in many fights and his dad still would not care for him even if he won the lottery. Dally also talks about his dad's disgrace towards him in the car with Johnny and Ponyboy, “‘ Shoot, my dad don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in a gutter...’”(88). Dally could easily live without his dad and he does for the most part. Dally just hangs around with his friends and stays at their place. Similarly, Johnny's parents use him like a rag doll to blow off steam, “his father always beating him up”(14). The gang knows what happenes in Johnny’s house. Once Ponyboy was witnessing, “Johnny take a whipping with a two-by-four from his old man”(33). Ponyboy talks about how loud and mean Johnny's mom is and,“you can...

    Read More

  • Push, By Sapphire

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    This story makes the reader wonder, why must parents do this to their children, what kinds of motifs do they have for essentially ruining their child’s life. I believe

    Read More

  • Delinquency of a Clockwork Orange

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... Alex received little control from his parents. In several instances the parenting methods used by his parents gave him too much of his own discretion. In one instance his mother allowed him to stay in from school and it is implied that this is a regular occurrence. This example acts doubly negative in that he has no responsibility to maintain a set schedule of structure but also that school itself can act as a form of control against delinquency because it gives an individual stakes in conformity.

    Read More

  • Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Analysis

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character, Connie, experiences life not having an actively participating mother or father. Most adolescents struggle with the transition from teen-age years to adulthood. For many, this is where the parents step in. Parents are meant to support and help an adolescent when needed, especially during this difficult transition; however, this is not always true. In Connie’s case, her parents allowed her to make the change alone and endure hard times. As a result, she lacked the values needed to survive. Such values are used to equip a young person for the real world and the tragedies that come with it. As seen in “Where are you going, Where have you been?”, Connie was a victim of poor guidance and empty judgment. The dysfunctional family’s behavior was reflected in Connie. Her mother envied her, and her father was not an active figure in her life. Connie 's

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Essay On The Outsiders

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout life individuals face many challenges testing their values and personality one situation at a time. In the evocative novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton themes of growing up and innocence are shown. Ponyboy is not your average 14 year old he is part of a gang known to many as the Greasers. He encounters many situations testing his values and beliefs. Having lost both his parents recently he and his brothers stick together like a true family but this relationship is tested when Darry hits Ponyboy. He also experiences the loss several close friends in a very short period of time. Throughout this novel, Ponyboy encounters many life changing experiences that prove he is a dynamic character.

    Read More

  • Rite Of Passage Essay Examples

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    The father’s upbringing was such that financial stability was the priority. The child learned that dads are busy and do not have time to spend with their children. What a devastating realization for a child to conclude. Yet like most little boys, this one wanted to grow up to be like his role model, no matter the example. During the time from childhood to adolescent, parental influence can be either beneficial or detrimental. If the parents have a stable home, clear boundaries and open communications with their teens, the transition could flow easier. The perfect father does not guarantee the child will not rebel.

    Read More

  • Mending the Relationship of Two Brothers in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1277 Words  | 3 Pages

    The older brother, the narrator, finds himself struggling at the beginning of the story. While riding the subway, he reads in the paper that Sonny has been arrested for possession of drugs. During his day of teaching, he reflects on prior years with Sonny and their past adventures as young boys. He remembers Sonny's "wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness and privacy." The narrator sees his brother as a good boy, not "hard or evil or disrespectful." He wonders how many of his algebra students are similar to Sonny in appearance and personality along with his drug habits. This comparison allows the older brother to conclude that Sonny was probably not arrested on his initial use of drugs. It also allows the narrator is see that Sonny may be like most of the other young boys in Harlem.

    Read More

  • Film Analysis of Boyz in the Hood

    2158 Words  | 5 Pages

    John Singleton’s view of social problems in South Central Los Angeles happens in a tale of three friends growing up together. Doughboy and Ricky Baker are half-brothers and have opposite personalities. Ricky is a football player who hopes to win a scholarship and spends most of his time playing football. On the other hand, Doughboy is a young man who looks upon his environment for guidance. He is involved in violence, abusing drugs, and participates in violence. In between is their friend Tre, who actually has a father to teach him what is right from wrong. Furious Styles, who is Tre’s father in the film does everything in his strength to keep his son from becoming another startling statistic. As you can see, it is always important for parents to be a part of their child’s life because it can make a big difference not only in their life but also their child’s future.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Family in Sonny's Blues

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story begins with the narrator’s brother, Sonny, being arrested for using heroin. When the narrator discovers what has happened to his brother, he slowly starts to relive his past. Up to this point, the narrator had completely cut his brother and his childhood from his life. He disapproves of the past and does everything in his power to get rid of it. The narrator had become an algebra teacher and had a family who he moved to get away from the bad influences on the street. As a result, it is shown in the story that he has worked hard to maintain a good “clean” life for his family and himself. Readers can see that he has lived a good life, but at the toll of denying where he came from and even his own brother. For years, his constant aim for success had been successful. However, as the story progressed everything he knew started to fall apart.

    Read More

  • Menace II Society

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Menace II Society, a film about a young Black man who has lived the “hustler” lifestyle and is struggling to leave it, is a perfect example of deviance as the main character, Caine Lawson, and the characters around him violate many of society’s norms. Throughout the film, the characters swear incessantly, carry around guns and drugs as most people would carry around cell phones, commit street crimes, especially burglary and mugging, on a regular basis, and beat and kill people unscrupulously. The following quote captures just how deviant Caine and the other characters in this film were, “[Caine] went into the store just to get a beer. Came out an accessory to murder and armed robbery. It's funny like that in the hood sometimes. You never knew what was gonna happen, or when” (Albert Hughes). Why would Caine consider these crimes “funny”, or rather, so insignificant? What caused Caine to become so deviant? The answers to such questions were woven into the plot of the film and will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

    Read More

  • Behavior in the Home in Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families by Annette Lareau

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...parents were much more successful in the working world encouraged him to complete many daily activities such as choir and piano lessons. His parents engaged him in conversations that promoted reasoning and negotiation and they showed interest in his daily life. Harold’s mother joked around with the children, simply asking them questions about television, but never engaged them in conversations that drew them out. She wasn’t aware of Harold’s education habits and was oblivious to his dropping grades because of his missing assignments. Instead of telling one of the children to seek help for a bullying problem she told them to simply beat up the child that was bothering them until they stopped. Alex’s parents on the other hand were very involved in his schooling and in turn he scored very well in his classes. Like Lareau suspected, growing up

    Read More

  • What Is Differential Association Theory

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...omes with a master’s program. Finally you have Doughboy’s constant strain of being under his athletic, semi-successful, star-player brother Ricky. His mother’s unhealthy admiration and favoring towards one child pushed her other son into the lifestyle that society expects from their ethnic group. Rather than going against the norm, like Ricky was encouraged to, Doughboy went with the norm and became exactly what was expected.

    Read More

  • Powder by Tobias Wolff

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    The boy appears to play the role of the responsible adult more so than the father does. The boy has typical signs of a child from today’s broken family relationships; he does not want to disappoint either parent. The boy s...

    Read More

More about Teenage Wasteland

Open Document