I missed the discussion during Thursday’s class because of the Occidental College meeting. Here are my observations on the story of Teenage Wasteland.

Initially, the characters in this story appeared unoriginal and simple. The mother, Daisy, is perpetually confused by her apathetic teenage son Donny, who does not appreciate his parents or education. All of this seemed clichéd until Calvin enters the story. Calvin swoops in and commandeers young Donny’s life.Hoping that Calvin will help Donny raise his deplorable grades, Daisy cedes control of Donny’s life to Calvin. Feeling optimistically apprehensive, Daisy hopes that Calvin’s appeal to the teenager would be the key to turning her son into a studious and responsible young man.

Unknown to Daisy, but obvious to the reader, are Calvin’s true intentions. Calvin empathizes, even identifies with teenagers and will act out a second childhood through Donny. Calvin will empower Donny by removing boundaries established by his parents.

Donny is an appropriately-confused teenager. But Calvin confuses Donny's age-appropriate chafing under his parent’s rules with his own feelings of oppression that he had experienced while he was married to his controlling ex-wife. This drives Calvin’s desire to liberate his clients. Under the guise of helping his student, Calvin regresses to the level of irresponsible and impulsive teenagers.

I was unprepared for the ending of Teenage Wasteland. I didn’t recognize the point at which Donny’s life became intolerable. The situation changed from less than ideal and uncomfortable to unbearable. The transition was so subtle that I didn’t think the story supported Donny’s drastic decision to run away from home. This must be an indication of how misunderstood Donny must have felt. Even the reader wasn’t aware of the intense pain he must have felt. So extreme that he chose losing his family forever.

On a completely different note…

In both stories, Everyday Use and Interpreter of Maladies, I was intrigued by the relationship between parents and children. In these stories, I saw parenting styles have unintended and misunderstood consequences.

In Everyday Use, the mother worked to create a better life for her children. Her children responded to her quite differently. One daughter, Maggie, appreciated her mother’s efforts, yet received the least benefit from her mother’s hard work. The other daughter, Dee, was given a good education and opportunity to rise above her circumstances. Instead of appreciating the church and her mother’s assistance, she is embarrassed. She doesn’t appreciate her mother’s love and sacrifice. She resents that her mother is poor and uneducated. The mother acted unselfishly by allowing her daughter opportunities that were beyond her own experience.

In Interpreter of Maladies, both parents were completely uninterested in parenting. Mrs. Das’ children continually begged for her attention and acceptance. This neglect causes the mother only brief periods of guilt followed by elaborate self-justification. The children are left feeling unloved.

The contrast between Mrs. Das and the mother in Interpreter of Maladies reveal the dramatically different approached to parenting and their respective results.