StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Struggles of adolecents - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This research explores issues like fitting in, while standing out, the struggles of adolescents. The paper presents three stories that explore the various struggles of adolescents: Toni Morrison’s “1922”, Amy Tan’s “Half and Half”, and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94% of users find it useful
Struggles of adolecents
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Struggles of adolecents"

Fitting In, While Standing Out: The Struggles of Adolescents Adolescents exist in that sensitive stage of their lives, when they are still forming their identities, while also asserting their individualities. Minority adolescents, in particular, have their distinct challenges, especially when situated in the context of race and gender. Three stories explore the various struggles of adolescents: Toni Morrison’s 1922, Amy Tan’s Half and Half, and Alice Walker’s Everyday Use. In all three stories, adolescents struggle with the complex process of fitting in enough, but still standing out to some extent, so that they can freely express who they are, specifically as they are victimized by their gender and racial statuses.

Adolescents struggle to fit in, especially in a white society dominated by males. Morrison talks about Ned and Sula who arrive at Medallion's Bottom and they are welcomed by diverse sexual innuendos: "When a woman approached, the older men tipped their hats; the younger ones opened and closed their thighs" (p. 42). These men find these young girls as fresh animal meat for the eating. Ned and Sula want to fit in enough to ensure that they can thrive in the environment, despite the sexist environment.

Dee of Alice Walker’s Everyday Use also wants to fit in with the more upscale urban society, as she develops disdain for her family’s rural upbringing and lack of education. Rose in Amy Tan’s Half and Half further aims to be assimilated, as she tries to take care of her siblings, while determined to also find a welcoming place in the American society. These teenagers want to fit in; they want to blend in and feel accepted. But social acceptance is not always a given, and oftentimes, adolescents must also struggle to stand out, so that they can express who they are, explicitly as they are victimized by their gender and racial statuses.

Sula and Nel discover “that they were neither white nor male, and that freedom and triumph was forbidden to them.” They then want to be something else, something more powerful. Dee also wants to be someone more distinctive. In college, she learns to embrace her African heritage, but for superficial purposes. She, nevertheless, remains her condescending self, as she continues to look down on her family’s insistence on simple and everyday-basis existence. Rose wants to stand out too, as she falls in love with an aggressive, white male.

It is a form of defiance, a way of differentiating herself in her Chinese clan. These teenagers seek to stand out and become more than part of the crowd, because deep inside, they want to be recognized as individuals too. Adolescents go through life seeking social acceptance, sometimes more from one group of people than another, such as their family or the white society in general. Adolescents are still growing up, however, and so they are confounded by multiple dilemmas. On the one hand, they want to fit in.

On the other hand, they also want to stand out. For minority adolescents, fitting in can sometimes be more crucial than standing out, but sometimes, they also want recognition and respect for being distinct individuals too, especially when they are female and part of the minority race. And the struggle continues for adolescents who want to be accepted, but not made invisible by their society.Works CitedMorrison, Toni. 1922.Tan, Amy. Half and Half.Walker, Alice. Everyday Use.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Struggles of adolecents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1424601-struggles-of-adolecents
(Struggles of Adolecents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/sociology/1424601-struggles-of-adolecents.
“Struggles of Adolecents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1424601-struggles-of-adolecents.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Struggles of adolecents

How does hip hop music affect black youth

Music allows the individuals in struggles to share ideas, values, and belief (Titon, 1984; Rose, 1999).... This essay describes the impact of hip hop music on black youths.... The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of black youth parents' views on rap and hip-hip music and how this music affect adolescent....
22 Pages (5500 words) Essay

Cultural Differences between the male and female adolescent experience

This essay "Cultural Differences between the male and female adolescent experience" examines by comparing the different experiences that that may be had by a male and a female in terms of physical, mental, and social developmental change.... Different cultures view adolescence in variable manners....
6 Pages (1500 words) Admission/Application Essay

The Introduction of SEAs Into the Curriculum of the Adolescent

This paper aims to explain the challenges of adolescence via the works selection 31 and 33.... Pathognomic versus developmentally appropriate self-focus during adolescence, selection 33, by Michael L.... Penn brings forward a distinction between developmentally appropriate and adaptive aspects of self-focus....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Adolescents and the Elderly

Abstract: This literature review compares lifespan research on two distinct age groups: adolescents and the elderly.... The research looks at various factors of physical, cognitive, and social development and concludes that, although teens and senior adults both find themselves in developmental stages where physical changes are prevalent and cognitive ability is important, social factors have the greatest impact on the individual's well-being and state of mind. … In the field of lifespan research, adolescents and the elderly occupy the two extremes of adulthood....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Adolescents not in Turmoil

The following paper “Adolescents not in Turmoil” provides a profile of the contemporary American adolescents who are not in turmoil, not deeply disturbed and not resistant to parental values as still constituting the majority of the adolescent population.... hellip; The following discussions also attempt to bring to fore parental care to be essential, as it is a wonderful privilege for their development as well, during the period of their children's adolescent years....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment

Reflective Analysis - Aspects of Adolescence Life

After emigrating, teenagers face a lot of struggles in trying to merge the mainstream society in their new country.... One of the factors that contributed to these struggles is the fact that parents and community at large try to dictate the lives of teenagers.... In the modern world, there has been increased movement of people from one region to another in search of better livelihoods for themselves and their families....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Developmental Studies: Adolescence

Thus, adolescence, in most cases is associated with the teenage years even when the visible transformations in an individual might… To understand adolescence, one has to consider the societal information that comprises of history of a community, psychology, sociology, biology, anthropology and education (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Teen Sport Positively Contributes to Adolescent's Live as They Transition to Adult Life

"Teen Sport Positively Contributes to Adolescent's Live as They Transition to Adult Life" paper argues that interaction with the world is possible through engagement in meaningful activities like sport.... Activities like teen sports nurture different character traits to the adolescent.... hellip; The life of human beings develops in stages from childhood to adulthood....
5 Pages (1250 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us