The Many Faces of Bruno Bicek The need to be accepted by others is a staple of teen life that continues into adulthood. There is an innate desire within humans to fit in and be accepted by their peers. In Nelson Algren’s Never Come Morning, the main character, Bruno Bicek, is known by many different names according to who he is conversing with. When he speaks to his gang of friends, he is known as “Lefty” or “Lefty Biceps” and this persona is the troublemaker who steals and picks fights. Steffi Rostenkowski is Bruno’s girlfriend, and whenever they are together, he takes on the personality of “Bunny,” which is Steffi’s nickname for him. Bunny is a nicer version of Bruno, who feels genuine remorse when he commits wrongful acts towards her. Until the end of the book, he is only referred to as Bruno by adults. …show more content…
Without his friends forcing him to be this way, Bruno could be a much better person. According to several studies, teenagers are affected heavily by the friend groups they choose to be around. In an article of the Journal of Adolescence, the authors Tara Dumas, Wendy Ellis, and David Wolfe provide information on the importance of peer groups on how teenagers develop. The authors write, “Several researchers have shown that peer groups are powerful socialization agents of risk behaviors in adolescence (e.g.,Kiesner et al., 2002 and Urberg et al., 1997) and many problematic behaviors occur in the context of these groups (Wolfe, Jaffe, & Crooks, 2006).” (Dumas, Ellis, & Wolfe 1). According to the authors of this article, along with several other authors, the groups that teenagers associate with form a sort of “group mentality” that each of the teenagers involved seem to follow. Bruno is a perfect example of this group mentality dictating a person’s will. He has such great potential to be more than just another street thug; however, due to the company he keeps, Bruno is destined to be just like
As a teenager we are all looking to be accepted by our peers and will do whatever it is they want us to so we can be accepted. That is to say the feeling of needing to be accepted by ones peers is done consciously; the person starts to do what their friends do without thinking about it. (Teen 3) In fact, teens are more likely to be affected by peer pressure because they are trying to figure out who they are. (How 1) Therefore, they see themselves as how their peers would view them so they change to fit their peer’s expectations. (How 1) Secondly, the feeling of needing to rebel and be someone that isn’t who their parents are trying to make them be affects them. (Teen 2) Thus, parents are relied on less and teens are more likely to go to their peers about their problems and what choices to make. (How 1) Also, their brains are not fully matured and teens are less likely to think through their choices thoroughly before doing it. (Teen 6) Lastly, how a child is treated by his peers can affect how they treat others; this can lead them into bullying others who are different. (Teen 3) Consequently this can affect a teen into doing something good or bad; it depends who you surround yourself with.
Everyone faces varying degrees of peer pressure at least once in their lifetime, but what matters is how one reacts. In Bad Haircut—a collection of short stories—the author, Tom Perrotta, examines the effect of peer pressure on the main character, Buddy, in a comical yet informative light. Buddy faces peer pressure consistently and ends up associating with the wrong people, due to a lack of backbone. Yet Buddy is different and a better person than those who he associates with because he is compassionate and able to recognize that he is a follower; therein lies the irony that only the reader sees Buddy’s merit while the other characters only see the results of his friends’ poor judgment.
In S.E. Hinton’s book, The Outsiders, children born on the wrong side of town grow up to be juvenile, teenage hoods. In this book, these teenage delinquents are the Greasers, whose only "rival" is the Socials, or "Socs," as an abbreviation. The characters within The Outsiders unmistakably choose a remote. lifestyle of juvenile delinquency and crime. Ilanna Sharon Mandel wrote an article called, "What Causes Juvenile Delinquency?" This editorial presents many circumstances that can be applied to the main character, or protagonist, Ponyboy Michael Curtis and his brothers, friends, and neighbors. Their behavior may not always lead them to the right side of the law, but it is the cause of juvenile delinquency that gets them in. trouble.
This quote also validates a significant personality change upon the protagonist, who seemed like a character that would've helped in any other circumstance. Even though the main character could've easily went and brought a rope, he didn't because his group of friends did not reciprocate any intentions of helping the man. The author wrote this to explain how one characters' personality could change for the worse based on the group's impact on the individual. Although the author could've easily made the story with one or two characters, he instead made it into a group setting, which showed how much greater the peer pressure is when the number of people increases. It is also important to realize that these type of cliques that do not have any supervision or authority, like these kids, will change their morals and ethics much more quickly due to the intellectual force of the number of people, rather than the influence of past
The transition from childhood to adulthood is not only a physical challenge but, psychological and socially exhausting. John Updike who wrote “A & P” recognized this and used it characterize the main character. The protagonist Sammy was developed around the concept of the journey into adulthood. Sammy is a nineteen years old boy who works at the A&P grocery store in a small New England town. It is not until three young girls walk into the store in just their bathing suits that Sammy is faced with the realization that he undoubtedly has to face the harsh truth of growing up.
“Emotional regulation can lead to more fulfilling social experiences. Children of the same age argue on about the same socio-cognitive and moral level, face the same transitions and life events. These similarities are expected to improve their understanding of their peers’ situation, perhaps to some extent independent of inter-individual differences due to level of development, personality, or upbringing. The second reason follows from the fact that peers form a group. Being together with a group of likeminded peers should intensify some of the emotions children experience.” (Salisch, 2001) The group they formed was a good social experience for them. Without the group I think the boys would not have gone on to do great things if they had not had the
"The teenage brain is like a car with a good accelerator but a weak brake. With powerful impulses under poor control, the likely result is a crash.” (Ritter). An adolescent does not have complete power over their impulses, unlike fully developed adults. “The frontal lobe includes the prefrontal cortex, which controls executive functions like planning, decision-making, the expression of emotion, and impulse control. The prefrontal cortex may not be completely developed until a person is in his or her mid-twenties. This explains why adolescents have less impulse control than adults, are less able to think through the long-term consequences of their decisions, and are more susceptible to peer pressure. Does it make sense, then, to punish a youth in the same way we punish adults?” (Harris). The brain w...
Identification with a peer group is a critical part of growing up because even though there is a mix between valuable and invaluable points, no one wants to be left with nobody to help them figure out how they fit in the world and get pass tough times. Peer pressure can have positive impacts and not so good but the postive are too valuable to overpass, leaning us over to conclude that classifying with a circle of close friends are a key factor when going into the real
In the story "A&P," by John Updike, the main character Sammy makes the leap from an adolescent, knowing little more about life than what he has learned working at the local grocery store, into a man prepared for the rough road that lies ahead. As the story begins, Sammy is nineteen and has no real grasp for the fact that he is about to be living on his own working to support himself. Throughout the course of the story, he changes with a definite step into, first, a young man realizing that he must get out of the hole he is in and further into a man, who has a grasp on reality looking forward to starting his own family. In the beginning, Sammy is but a youth growing up learning what he knows about life in small town grocery store. His role models include, Stokesie, the twenty-two year-old, supporting a family doing the same job Sammy does yet aspiring to one day have the manager's position, and Lengel, the store manager who most certainly started out in the same place that Stokesie and he were already in. Stoksie, the great role model, continues to be as adolescent as Sammy, with his "Oh, Daddy, I feel so faint," and even Sammy sees this noting that "as far as I can tell that's the only difference (between he and I)." Sammy whittles away his days looking at pretty girls and thinking about the ways of people. He hardly realizes that this is how he will spend his entire existence if he doesn't soon get out of this job. During this day that will prove to change his life, he makes the step towards his realization. He decides that he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life working at an A&P competing for the store manager's position. Sammy thinks to himself about his parent's current social class and what they serve at cocktail parties. And, in turn, he thinks about what he will be serving, if he stays at the A&P, "When my parents have somebody over they get lemonade and if it's a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses with 'They'll Do It Every Time' cartoons stenciled on." He must get out and the sooner the better. He is still just an adolescent who hasn't completely thought through his decision and yet his mind is made up.
"Parents and teachers often miss children's nascent understanding of group dynamics, as well as kids' willingness to buck to the pressure," Killen explains. Children begin to figure out the costs and consequences of resisting peer group pressure early. By adolescence, they find it only gets more complicated."
...up on Stokesie like sheep, Engel explains that policy insists that shoulders must be covered. Policy is what the kingpins want. What others want is juvenile delinquency. Like a champ Sammy throws in the towel. He watched as 3 girls bucked the norm and alternately was confident enough to quit altogether. They get away from him and his feet are carrying him to the place of his residence rather than a car, reserved for higher classes. He ends with the thought how hard the world was to be to me hereafter. Sammy?s variety of verbal simulations and creations for the reader reveal the social and economic classes of basic society. The adults like animals, the attractive women- analyzed on a pedestal in full description and personification, employees get harped on too. Stoksie was a little to ambitious for a bagger, and management was regarded like the rest of the animals.
Brendgen, M. (2012). Genetics and peer relations: A review. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(3), 419-437. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2012.00798.x
In the article “Prevalence and Development of Child Delinquency” written by Howard N. Snyder, he explains that “Older juveniles often influence younger children. In addition, studies have shown that juveniles who associate with deviant peers are more likely to be involved in delinquent behavior and arrested at a younger age than those who do not associate with such deviant juveniles” (Snyder 36). Children that are abused and/or associate themselves with delinquents run a greater risk of developing delinquent behavior themselves. According to "Breaking the Cycle of Violence: A Rational Approach to At-Risk Youth." Written by Judy Briscoe, “Peer rejection may also influence child and adolescent delinquency by inducing the rejected child to associate with deviant peer groups and gangs. Gang membership provides a ready source of co-offenders for juvenile delinquency and reflects the greatest degree of deviant peer influence on offending. Also, youth tend to join gangs at younger ages than in the past, which leads to an increased number of youthful offenders.” (Briscoe 8) Although children tend to have the same values and beliefs as their parents, their different experiences and influences while growing up shape their beliefs and their view of the world, which has a direct impact on their ability to make rational decisions. It’s possible that if a child had
Peer pressure is very common with teenagers now a days, being with group of friends for teenagers make them feel belong. Belongingness that they seek, to feel good about themselves and also to cope up with the trend that the society is feeding them. Being “cool” is what the teenagers want to be, they want to be famous to be idolize by their fellow teenagers. In that state of mentality, they do all odds to be famous or to be cool they try different things to stay cool. Others also try to fit in with their peer groups so that they are influenced to do things that they do not want to do to be belong to the group. Also if a teenager is rejected it can lead to hurting
Peer groups include individuals of similar age and of related social position (Willmott, 2018). This is noticeable in Thirteen Reasons Why with Bryce. In addition, when Bryce is with his peer group, he seems like a friendly, outgoing person. Yet, when he is alone with girls, he sexually assaults them. He sexually assaulted Jessica when she was passed out drunk and had unconsented sex with Hannah when he was alone with her in the pool at a party. Hannah was already in so much psychological pain and Bryce was the second last horrible event in Hannah's life before she committed suicide. Hannah even mentioned that Bryce's actions were a significant reason to why she ended her life. In this case, Bryce being with his peer group is an advantage, as when he is with his peer group, he doesn't take advantage of women. Going back to when Hannah and Marcus go on their first date, they went on a date together and Marcus's friends were watching the date. Before the date, Marcus acted very respectfully and sincere because they only talked alone. When they go on their date with Marcus's friends, he attempts to have sex with her. The addition of Marcus's friends to the date revealed the type of person he is when he is around his peer group. The addition of Marcus's peers to the date was a huge negative and hurt Hannah's feelings as she caught on that he was trying to impress his friends. In the article, "Peer Groups as a Context for School Misconduct," it talks about a test that was upheld throughout schools regarding the positive and negative effects of peer groups (Boyko, Chen, Ellis, Kinal, Zarbatany 2017, 1). They found that negative actions from peer groups become widespread (Boyko, Chen, Ellis, Kinal, Zarbatany 2017, 2). The study also showed that members of a peer group were more likely to stay a part of that group if it was a positive oriented group, but people were more likely to