Overcoming Obstacles In Stephanie's Life

Adolescents are very unlikely to reach their full potential without the guidance of an adult figure, such as a mother, father, sibling, or guardian. Adult figures are essential to a growing child because they exemplify decision making, wisdom, and overall life lessons on how to grow up. Although some children do have an adult figure in their life, they aren’t always the best influences for their children, adults also face their own battles which can reflect upon their exterior, ultimately having a critical effect on a child’s development. For example, in “Running with Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs, the main character Augusten lives with his mother who suffers from a mental disorder who guides him into a pathway of chaos and disorder. Augusten learns to cope with no guidance, but still faces many issues that could have been resolved with a reassuring adult figure.

The story, ‘“Approximations” by Mona Simpson expresses the idea that every parent often want to see their children succeed in life, but sometimes the idea gets carried away that many of the parents want their children to stand out and be the best at a sport or have a special talent and be successful in life and tend to forget about their children's own needs and feeling. This is because it makes them look like outstanding parents, and they often forget about what their children really want. In the story Melinda’s mother and father are divorced and she goes through life without her father most of the time and lives with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend Jerry. Melinda’s mother makes her do ice skating but she is so wrapped up with

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.

Teenage rebellion is typically portrayed in stories, films, and other genres as a testosterone-based phenomenon. There is an overplayed need for one to acknowledge a boy’s rebellion against his father, his life direction, the “system,” in an effort to become a man, or rather an adult. However, rarely is the female addressed in such a scenario. What happens when little girls grow up? Do they rebel? Do they, in a sudden overpowering rush of estrogen, deny what has been taught to them from birth and shed their former youthful façades? Do they turn on their mothers? In Sharon Olds’ poem, “The Possessive,” the reader is finally introduced to the female version of the popular coming-of-age theme as a simple

Tracy, a seventh grade girl in the movie Thirteen, provides a glimpse into the dangers of negative adolescent development. She was an honor student who was content playing with Barbies, but she was also desperate for acceptance and affection. Tracy meets Evie, a popular girl who engages in destructive behavior. Tracy’s only goal becomes emulating Evie, and she embarks on a path of self-destruction. Tracy, who is in early adolescence, is at the peak of her most critical developmental stage (Capuzzi & Gross, 2014), and is willing to do whatever it takes to belong. Throughout the movie, we see her struggle with low self-esteem, anger, dysfunctional relationships, self-harm, and substance abuse. Vernon (2009), discusses Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which can be utilized with Tracy. Vernon (2009) notes that when needs of safety, belonging, love, and respect are not met, children respond emotionally, cognitively, physically, and socially, depending on their developmental level. The degree of development also impacts how children react to common developmental difficulties and situational problems. Vernon (2009) adds, “…how children interpret and respond to basic needs, as well as typical and situational problems, can result in various self-defeating behaviors” (p.3). Applying this to Tracy, we see that her basic needs of

Sara's father wanted to control everybody else's lives, in his family, but he did not want anyone telling him how to do things. He felt that he should be able to control the family spendings even though he did not earn a penny. He went against his wife's request and used every penny of their savings to buy the store. His wife asked him, "Promise me that you won't pay out the money till I come to see what you buy." (113). He went ahead and bought the store without letting his wife come down to see it first like he had promised her. He made a huge mistake then, just as he had with his daughters. He did not pick a good husband for any of his daughters. He was fooled not only by the store owner but also by the daughters' husbands. The reason he made all these mistakes is because he would not listen to anyone's advice. If he had listened to his wife, he would not have bought the store because she would have been with him, and she would have noticed something was wrong because she was already suspicious. She says, "Does he really ask only four hundred dollars for all this?...Ask him to give you a pencil to count up all the goods there is in stock." (114). She has more sense about business then he does, but he gets to be in control of all their money. Today, women have more of a say in what goes on with the financial part of the family as well as with who they are going to

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

This story could make one wonder, how far would you go to get the person of your dreams. Three young ladies walk into the A&P store wearing nothing but bathing suits. The girls catch the attention of Sammy who is the cashier. Sammy watches the girls walk around the store while making mental notes about each one of the girls. When Mr. Lengel the store manager sees the girls, he lets them know that the store policy is to have your shoulders covered and to dress appropriately when you enter the store. This conversation upsets Sammy, so in the moment Sammy spontaneously quits his job in hopes of being the girl’s hero. After Sammy takes off his apron and walks out the door he looks around, but the girls have already gone. Within John Updike’s short story “A&P” the author uses foreshadowing, a dynamic character, and symbolism to show us how life can be unpredictable at times.

Modern culture promotes having fun and doing what feels good in the moment. Connie has poor communication with her family, shown by her rebellious behavior and lack of respect for her parents. She chooses to distance herself from her family which results in them not being there when she needs them the most. Parents are supposed to be protectors and leaders in their children’s lives and when these key aspects are not present, a window is opened for the victimization of youth. The consequences of such situations result in a predicament like Connie’s and becomes an immense concern for the effects that modern culture has on

     Mrs. Sommers is a middle aged timid mother of a handful of children, and is apparently not well to do anymore after her husband’s death; Not that she probably ever was, but more so than her luck would have it now. She is small framed with tattered old clothes, as if she hasn’t been able to purchase

What truly gets the attention of Sammy is Queenie’s pink bathing suit that had straps that were pushed off which exposed her bare shoulders. He describes that with the straps down you can see just “her” and how she was “more than pretty.” Customers of A & P are in shock when they witness the girls’ appearance in the store. Stokesie, another cashier at A & P who is only three years older than Sammy, is married with two kids. He does not resist fantasizing over the girls. He makes commentary along with Sammy, again clearly displaying the mindset of that age group. The store is quiet, Sammy is anxiously awaiting the girls to come into view as there is nothing else to do. He fabricates scenarios in his head such as which check out aisle they will choose when their shopping has concluded.

The daughter is bored with her mother's dreams and lets her pride take over. She often questions her self-worth, and she decides that she respects herself as nothing more than the normal girl that she is and always will be. Her mother is trying to mold her into something that she can never be, she believes, and only by her futile attempts to rebel can she hold on to the respect that she has for herself. The daughter is motivated only to fail so that she may continue on her quest to be normal. Her only motivation for success derives from her own vanity; although she cannot admit it to herself or her mother, she wants the audience to see her as that something that she is not, that same something that her mother hopes she could be.

When we are children it’s hard not to conform to any given situation we are faced with because we have such limited resources, and we are still reliant on our parents to protect us, and keep us alive. Jeanette had no choice, but to comply with her parents demands. However, as Jeanette grew older, she was exposed to several other kids families, and she began to realize that her situation was atypical for a girl her

He describes the girls’ bodies in terms of the physical features most notable by first glances, including a reference of one girl being overweight with a large, but attractive rear end (Updike 561). I was thoroughly disgusted when he compared a woman’s empty mind with a buzzing bee in a glass jar (Updike 561). The girl referred to as “the queen” is the object most attracted by his affection and his roving eyes. “There was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except her…it was more than pretty” (Updike 561). At the end of the story, the narrator refers to the “Big Tall Goony-Goony” as “not bad for raw material” (Updike 564) and while taking the money, compares Queenie’s breasts to raw scoops of vanilla ice cream (Updike 563). When he loudly announces his intentions to quit his job, the narrator is upset that the girls don’t seem to notice or appreciate him and he seems disappointed to find “his girls” gone from the parking lot and his life without noticing his martyrdom (Updike 564). I was offended as I imagined this was a stand easily taken by many man for pretty girls. I wanted to run home and smack my boyfriend on the head with a rolled up copy of Vogue.

This is made obvious by the subjective reflections of the now grown daughters as they write about their relationships with a distorted and one-sided view. “When individuals describe and evaluate an important relationship, this “accounting” of the relationship imparts meanings to the events, actions, and emotions of their past history, their present interactions, and their anticipated future together.” (Bojczyk, Lehan and McWey) This is how they identify their formative years and how they identify themselves as daughters to their mothers. Sufficed to say, despite the differences in perspective and experience, it is nearly impossible for the mother-daughter relationship to be clinically reviewed, they are heavily subjected to the author’s opinions and reactions to their mother.