Struggle of a typical Teenager

Struggles of a Typical Teenager

Elissa Doson

Freshman Composition, EN 112
Karen Tucker
March 14, 2013

Independence is the state of being dependent. In the stories, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol, the main character Connie, and the story “Teenage Wasteland” by Anne Tyler, the protagonist Donny, both search for independence in their life; however their pursuit for this freedom is stemmed in different ways leading to bad endings for both characters. Connie searches for independence by creating a sexy appearance and enticing boys while Donny becomes rebellious and distant from his parents. In the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie who is fifteen years old is obsessed with her looks. Connie’s mother constantly scolds and compared to Connie to sister. Her relationship with her mother is so bad that she wishes her mother dead. Her father who is mostly absent is her life never does anything to stop her mother’s nagging. So, Connie retaliates by trying to appear wiser and older than her age to get boys attentions. June, Connie’s sister, is the precedent that allows Connie to find boys at drive- in restaurants. One day while Connie is doing her regular flirting routine at a drive- in she encounters a man in a golden convertible who claims that he was going to get her. Connie ignores his comment and continues with her regular flirting routine however her encounter was not short lived with the man. When Connie’s parents left for a family barbecue the man in the golden convertible named Arnold Friend drove up to Connie’s house threatening Connie’s livelihood so that he can own her and influence her to get into his car. Connie becomes so petrified by Arnold Friend’s threats that she leaves in the car with him. The story “Teenage Wasteland” the protagonist, Donny, feels that he is not getting enough freedom in his life. The story starts off with Donny’s mother getting a call from Mr. Lanham, the school principle. Mr. Lanham describes Donny as a drifting student and implies that Daisy, Donny’s mother, was an unseeing, uncaring parent. Daisy has various rules that she expects Donny to follow but he breaks them constantly. The principle advises Daisy to Calvin Beadle a psychologist. Calvin Beadle instructed Daisy to leave Donny’s school life to him. This is when Donny’s grade started to slip but his behavior started to improve a little. This was a negative outcome because Donny started to become distant from is family. Donny’s behavior starts to deplete when a teacher calls his mother about Donny’s grades. From that encounter Donny’s mother still does not intervene in his life but leaves it to the Calvin the psychiatrist to handle. She does not intervene in his life even when he did not introduce his girlfriend to her but his psychiatrist. Donny starts to hang out with children that have a bad influence and his grade start to really slip. The story climaxes when Donny is accused of having illegal substances in his locker. Donny first reaction was to look for Calvin and not his mother. He did not have an unswerving reason for having the substances in his locker thus allowing his mother to be skeptical of trusting him. He leaves his home shortly after his mother stops him from going to Calvin Beadle. Donny and Connie are similar because they are both characters struggling to get independence from authority however their behavior does not indicate that they deserve that freedom. Donny wants to be more independent but he does not act the part so his mother can trust him. In the story “Teenage Wasteland”, Donny gets suspended for having beer in his locker. He says to his mother “It was a put-up job!” (Tyler, 292). However, Donny does not provide his mother with proof so she can defend him. He sounds like he is lying which makes his mother very skeptical about defending him. Connie is similar to Donny in that she wants freedom, except her freedom is achieved by looking more sexually attractive. She is not aware of the outside world and constantly argues against her mother’s warning. She sneaks off to seduce boys at drive-in restaurants. Connie is not acting the part to get the trust that is needed to get independence. Both protagonists have a desire for freedom but there actions make their parents wary of giving them that freedom. Connie and Donny rebellious behavior leads them into compromising situations where they have bad endings. Connie’s sexual behavior leads her to encounter a man named Arnold Friend, who is similar to the devil. The man comes to Connie’s house cool and collected and threatens her and her family. If Connie was not seducing boys at drive- in restaurants she would not had met Arnold Friend. Towards the end of story Connie “ cried for her mother, she felt her breath start [to jerk] back and forth in her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness” (Oates). This shows that even though Connie wanted independence she was still not ready for it. When she got caught in a compromising situation she was calling for her mother’s help. In the situation of Donny, Donny actions never indicated that he deserved freedom. He would hang out with the wrong crowd and his grades were bad. When he got into altercations at his school he did not have solid proof to prove his innocence. He wanted things but did not act the part to get those things and he eventually ran away from home. In the stories both the protagonists search for independence is futile. They want freedom but their behaviors do not allow them to get the freedom they think they deserve. Both protagonists get pushed in to situations that they cannot escape from. Connie gets in to a compromising relationship with Arnold while Donny leaves his household. Independence is something that is earned not just given.