Adolescence
...ttempts to cover her up. But no matter what she does or “how many times she washes it”, the smell never leaves. This directly correlates to the fact that even though the narrator yearns to be blonde and busty, she will always be a Latina. I believe Cisneros implies out of all this that the current American society is forced to reject ourselves. That statement could not be truer for today’s adolescents. All during middle school and high school, kids were outcasts if they were not the most popular, best looking, and dated the hottest people. Instead, these adolescents should be worried about trying to just be themselves, and accept who they are. In the long run, I believe we would have happier adolescents currently in our country. Many adolescent themes and values can be understood and acquired in Jim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” The title of the story focuses not only on the physical burdens that the young soldiers in the narrator’s platoon carry, but on the emotional and psychological ones as well. O’brien employs these long lists which show the variety of the objects the soldiers carry and the many needs that these things satisfy. The length of this lists emphasis’s how heavy these burdens actually are. As the story progresses, the lists move into more abstract territory, and we see the soldiers carrying burdens like unanswered love and loneliness. Although both the physical and abstract burdens weigh the soldiers down, they also give them a sense of security and identity in the violent and foreign world that they find themselves in. Their life and sense of self are dependent on which items they are able to carry with them through the jungle. All of this is strikingly similar to growing up during adolescence. As we age through adolescence, our personal burdens grow larger and more complex than we could have of ever dreamed as a young child. During adolescence, the burdens that are put upon us and the ones that are chosen help define us as a unique individual from the rest of society. It gives adolescences the feeling of greater independence, something they strive more of from the very get go. It is during this exploring period of life that an individual sets the foundation for what kind of adult they will be for society. Jim O’Brien’s short story, “The Things They Carried”, hopefully teaches adolescence to choose one’s burdens wisely, and try not to over burden oneself. If wrong burdens are chosen, the quality of adult life that these adolescent people are striving for will be much less. A popular characteristic of adolescence is the act of rebellion to authority figures, such as parents, teachers, or bosses, and the responsibility that comes along with it. This concept is quite evident in John Updike’s short story, “A&P”. After Mr. Lengel threw out the three teenage girls, Sammy tells him that “You didn’t have to embarrass them,” to which Mr. Lengel replies, “It was they who were embarrassing us.” Since Sammy is clearly not embarrassed, the “us” refers not to Sammy but to Mr. Lengel and the entire town his attitude represents. Sammy is therefore telling Mr. Lengel that in his own belief system, people should be able to be frivolous when they want to. They should be able to come into a store in bathing suits to buy snacks, and they should be able to turn heads when they do it. Young men should be able to be attracted to young woman without feeling guilty, and when they do society should be able to withstand the shock. To confine oneself to Mr. Lengel’s view of society is to condemn oneself to the ordinary. All of this relates to the age old topic that adolescence wants to stand out from their older counterparts and will do just about anything to get that separation. This in turn makes teenagers quite rebellious with authority figures, such as parents, teachers, and bosses. I believe that this rebellion like quality of today’s adolescence helps them. Rebellious activities have there consequences, and with these consequences come greater learned responsibility by the individual. While walking away from the store, Sammy realized the insightful picture of life complexity. Did he know the conse...