Monday
Teenage Wasteland
In this story, Donny is a character who is very easy to relate to. I know that my parents push me very hard to succeed, and they are always checking up on my grades. They want to know where I am at all the time. It gets very annoying, and it seems very controlling, but I know that they do it because they want the best for me. It is just easy to relate to Donny because he doesn't feel like he has any freedom to do the fun things that he wants. I didn't really like the tutor Cal either. It seemed like he was just in it for the money, although he provided a safer hangout spot for the kids, rather than in an alley somewhere or something like that. It seemed like Cal always took Donny's side and defended him, but Cal wasn't doing his job either, He was supposed to be tutoring Donny so that his grades improved, but they only dropped. I thought that it was really random how the story ended. Like one morning, the family just woke up, and their son was gone. They didn't even seem that sad. I know it said that they were still looking and it had been three years, but I think that I would have looked harder at the beginning. I also feel bad for the other girl in the family because it seems like all the focus is on Donny. She just gets pushed off to the side for later, and you can tell by how much she is mentioned in the story. If the parents are not careful, they will have not only one but two runaway children.
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5 comments:
I think this story was my favorite out of all of them because I could relate to it so much better than the others. Parents do tend to push their kids so that they can succeed, and it can be overwhelming at times. However, people like Donny also annoy me a lot. He puts no effort into anything really. I think Cal was more harmful than helpful. He just proved to Donny that it was okay to blame your parents for everything and come up with excuses for things that are your own fault. I agree that the parents should also give Daisy more attention. Maybe they have been neglecting both of them? It would not surprise me if she ran away or at least acted out in the future.
I really liked this story because I could relate to it. What teenager doesn't have parents pushing them to be better or work harder? I feel bad for Donny in that no one really understands him, except for Cal. Although he wasn't the best role model for Donny, I thought that he was there for Donny when he needed him. Maybe if the parents would have believed in their son he would not have ran away.
I agree that the whole parent issue is very relatable. My parents also tend to check on my grades quite often, but their actions are justified. When Donny complains that he does not have enough freedom, he neglects the fact that again and again he has proven to his parents that he is not mature enough for that freedom. The tutor Cal is no better. He only supports Donny's bad behavior, which furthers the problems the family is having. When Donny left, I had absolutely no pity for him whatsoever. He made a choice, and now he must live with it.
Donny can be related to, but I did not like his character. It is hard for me to imagine not doing well in school. My parents push me to do well, but I am my own toughest critic. Out of the four short stories we were assigned, this was one of my favorites. I think it was written for a teenager, which made it a fun read.
I did not like Cal either. I found him to be similar to his pupils. I think he went through the same kind of problems when he was younger, and he treats his pupils the way he had wanted to be treated when he was going through that time. If I was a parent, I would not send any child to him because it seemed liked he held back his pupils instead of helping them. Overall, Cal is a character that I would not place any trust in.
I agree that Donny's situation is relatable. Everyone (especially in an honors class) has parents who are constantly checking up on them and how they are doing. I didn't feel that Donny's character was relatable at all though. He didn't try. He didn't care. I know that some people don't like school and don't try. But everyone has something that they love and actually dedicate to doing. If you aren't good at school that is fine, but you should be working hard for something. Donny doesn't seem to show any intrest in anything. He doesn't do anything except for cause trouble. I definitely agree that the parents need to step up and help Daisy, because if nothing is done they will soon wake up to find both children gone.
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