Archetypes In Teenage Wasteland

both explicit and implicitly; the son does not forget that his mother has the ultimate say in what

In Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland,” the reader is given insight into the difficulty of parenting through Daisy’s desperate attempt to stop her son from his seemingly uncontrollable downward spiral. The paranoia of her “perfect” parenting techniques leads to the tainting of Donny’s innocence over time and eventually his mysterious disappearance at the end of the story. Through symbols of innocence and corruption, Tyler demonstrates the importance of keeping one’s head clear and focused while parenting, and that using common sense and logic is far more effective than relying on idealism and hope.

Secondly, patience is another key component to an effective parent-child relationship. Some parents assume that if a child isn’t doing so well in school, the child will struggle with learning all his or her life. A parent must understand that one failure does not mean a child is made to be a failure. Having patience and allowing your child time to do better will help him or her grow up to be more of a well rounded adult. In “teenage wasteland” Daisy struggles with self worth. She ponders at night on where she went wrong in Donny’s life. She even admits that she wishes she could start over and give Donny more attention. “Given one more chance, she’d do it perfectly—hug him more, praise him more, or perhaps praise him less.” (190). Daisy’s patience fails when Donny becomes stubborn and narcissistic and she allows another person (his tutor) to parent and guide Donny. A parent knows their child best but must remember to be patient with the child while he or she is developing into an adult.

Parenting played a big role in shaping the two boys lives. Having a parental mentor is important because they assist and guide children to take the right decisions about their lives. The author had his two parents at the beginning of his life. Also, the author’s parents, especially his mother, tried to raise him in an effective way wanting him to know the right from wrong at an early age. “No mommy loves you, like I love you, she just wants you to do the right thing” (Moore 11). This quote was a live example of the author’s life with his parents. It reflected the different ways his parents used to teach him “the right thing.” Though his mother was upset from his action toward his sister, his father

Charlotte rejects her mother’s ideology from a young age, and has the perspective to see past the illusions of perfection her mother creates, and Miss. Hancock gives her the weapons to fight her mother. In seventh grade, Miss. Hancock teaches Charlotte about the metaphor, sparking the creativity within Charlotte her mother shunned. The metaphor becomes a symbol throughout the short story, but it also develops into something deeper. The metaphor becomes an allegory of Charlotte 's rebellion against her mother’s influence, and her future. Writing is an outlet, an opportunity for Charlotte to express and understand herself. The form of expression was a gift from Miss. Hancock, who arms her with the power of creativity. “‘My home,’ I said aloud, ‘is a box It is cool and quiet and empty and uninteresting. Nobody lives in the box,” Charlotte says in seventh grade. She has a complex understanding of herself, and is able to articulate her frustrations through metaphors. After graduating out of Miss. Hancock’s seventh grade class, the story picks up introducing the reader to Charlotte as a

For example, Jeannette’s parents never had a stable home, and had to sleep in their car or motels. This never stopped Jeannette or her siblings to have a future. The oldest sister, Lori, managed to move out because it wasn’t stable for her. Lori wanted Jeannette move in with her because she wanted her to be safe and get her education. She moved to New York. Consequently, their parents didn’t agree to this because they were young and needed to be with an adult at all time. Which was an disadvantage for them and the effect of it was that they didn't care about what their parent's opinion was. As a result, Jeannette went through a lot of not having a stable home which made her older sister think about their

Her Mother seemed to be more put together than her father at times, even getting a job at one point helping the family out. Though her mother was a hedonist and did not contain the motherly love and sacrifice for her kids, this job helped Jeanette’s future. She helped grade papers which increased her knowledge of the outside world and “...the world was making a little more sense” as she read the papers and projects of her mother’s students (Walls 205). Her parents had such an opposition to the outside world that she hadn’t gotten every aspect of

The parent’s decision to act freely and have no worries in life causes the family’s struggle, and leads them to poverty. The struggle for the family is shown in the quote, “Mom's salary created a whole new set of problems” (Walls.p.48). What this means is that money would solve all the family's problems, but it doesn't—mostly because the dad takes all the money. Later on in the memoir Jeannette says, “Mom decided Maureen

The characterizations of Connie’s family members have great effects on Connie. And onnie’s mother’s characterization is the main motivator for Connie’s rebellion. She always compares Connie with June, who is the “ideal daughter” in her eyes, and blames Connie for some little things, such as improper dressing and not having a tidy room. Oates suggests that the reason for Connie’s mother prohibiting Connie to dress up like an adult is that “ Her mother had been pretty once too” (Oates 1), but now “her looks were gone and that was why she always after Connie” (Oates 1). Therefore, she is jealous about Connie’s beauty and feels uncomfortable when seeing Connie wear beautiful outfits. Meanwhile, she likes June so much because June is obedient and plain, which makes her feel that she is dominant in the relationship. In the short story, Connie’s father is not given much description by the author, but his characterization has an effect on Connie as well. The irresponsible father spends little time with family and seldom has conversations to his daughters. When hearing his wife’s complain about Connie, he just bends his head with saying nothing, which makes Connie feels ignored and lonely. Urbanski states that “The father, who spent most of his time at work, is weak” (Urbanski 200) to reveals the father is not an active figure in his daughter’s life. Therefore, lacking of the company and communication of family members, Connie becomes upset. In addition, Connie’s sister June, who has the opposite characterization, is also one of the reasons for Connie’s rebellion. In Connie’s eyes, June is a

Connections Essay The Glass Castle is a memoir surrounding the events of Jeannette Walls’ unorthodox childhood. Among the many issues discussed in the novel, the effects of parentification, child abuse, and relocation are some of the most relevant and prominent issues in today’s society. As a result of their father’s regularized absence and their mother’s lack of motivation and responsibility, Jeannette and Lori Walls are forced to take care of the family’s budget, income, upkeep, and health.

For example, throughout her childhood she never had a truly stable home. Her family was constantly moving from place to place around the country, and as her father said, “doing the skedaddle” whenever inconveniences arose, like debt collectors catching up to them or getting into trouble with the law. Second, her father always spent the majority of their money on beer and other alcoholic beverages at bars, and they frequently had no food to eat and were starving. The children often had to fend for themselves to find food when they were hungry without the assistance of their parents. Jeannette often subdued her and her siblings’ difficulties by taking charge of herself and her siblings to acquire food and by standing up for herself whenever it was necessary. For example, she stood up for herself whenever her mother was being selfish and pompous. Her mother would hide snacks and eat them secretly without sharing, and she would also spend days sobbing and complaining about how she had to do everything. During those times, Jeannette often took charge and directly criticized her mother about not doing her job. After her dad whipped her, Jeannette vowed to escape Welch for good and began saving up money to leave and move away. As a result of her struggles, over the years Jeannette had become very hard-working and diligent at whatever work she did. This lead her to become very successful in the future. She

The mother/daughter relationship between Mrs. MacTeer and her two daughters, Claudia and Frieda, is loving and strong. They are taught their own self-worth through their mother’s strength and example, although this love isn’t fully appreciated by the girls until they are older. During Claudia’s illness, she is treated with a mixture of concern and anger. Although Claudia is scolded and her mother complains of cleaning her vomit, at the same time her mother is nursing her, giving her medicine, and checking on her throughout the night. Claudia discovers later that her mother’s anger is not directed at her, but at the world, as she must raise her black family in a world ruled by white culture. She protects her children and equips them for survival in a hostile environment.

He begins with: “always obey your parents”, a very simple piece of advice, but then adds, “when they are present. This is the best policy in the long run because if you don’t, they will make you” (“Advice to Youth”). His addition of this statement is obvious sarcasm, that provides another piece of very different advice. This piece of advice is directed at the parents, and it satirically tells them not to force their children into obedience. Rather than having an awkward conversation about the respect expected from each party in a child-parent relationship, parents can use this piece to open the discussion. The parents and children, through this repetition of satire, can both learn ways to respect each other, therefore, creating a bond.

“Donny said he’d be damned if he let them drag him to some stupid fairy tutor.” (Anne Tyler. “Teenage Wasteland”) Once again, Daisy made a decision for Donny. Communication is key in any form of relationship whether it is a friendship, intimate relationship or mother and child. Understanding is also key. Daisy did not take the time to sit down and talk to Donny. She did not take the time to figure out what was best for him, instead she let others tell her what was best for her son. Daisy desperately

Despite Chris’s parents’ best efforts, Chris’s unconquerable arrogance kills him and rips Chris’s parents' life to shreds. According to speaker, author, and psychologist Dr. Joshua Coleman, parents can do everything right for their children and be the best parent they can be, but despite their greatest efforts their children can still turn on them and hurt their parents