The issues caused by absent mobility are made even more clear by the second verse. Rather than projecting upon a faraway future, the speaker is suddenly face with “here and now” (Palmer 2.14). There are new values that applied to them, but Palmer indicates that they are merely an extension of the previous expectations that reflect an increase in age through the repetition of the phrase “Because I will be the picture of discipline” (Palmer 2.17). Since those five years have presumably passed the additional responsibilities of adulthood include financial stability and therefore participation in the constraints of the capitalist structure to procure that stability. However it quickly becomes clear that the speaker still has not become the person
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By utilizing another projection into an even further future, Palmer reveals what occurs when social pressures are taken off of adolescents as they progress into later adulthood. In an unspecified old age, the speaker believes that they will finally be allowed to begin living a life they enjoy. Paradoxically, Palmer insinuates the belief that age simultaneously is what removes us from the pressure of our cultural constraints but also is the product of their having fulfilled the prophecy of the 'person' they were intended to create. As Greenblatt claims, Western culture has a habit of perceiving them “as if culture is always harmonious rather than shifting and conflict-ridden” (Greenblatt 231). Palmer seems to agree with this assessment, given the nature of the way her speaking character begins to truly question whether or not they should be relying on social pressures to shape their personality and ultimately their life. The realization takes place in the …show more content…
While the West typically view “A life that fails to conform at all, that violates absolutely all the available patterns, will have to be dealt with as an emergency...” (Greenblatt 229), Palmer suggests that the opposite is true. By finally making the realization that they do not actually wish to conform to the norms that her their was supposed to fulfil and deciding to take matter into their own hands, Palmer implies that the true experience of life (as an entirely separate entity from the melancholic experience of youth) can finally begin. The realization is jarring, as implied by the oppositional repetition of the phrase “But that's not what I want / But that's what I wanted” but it helps with the final realization that there is no predestined outcome for lived experiences in human life (Palmer 3.35-36). The final paragraph reinforces this assessment. The speaker draws the conclusion that their perceptions about their culturally influenced constraints may truly be in their mind, and are therefore “Things that aren't really happening” (Palmer 4.42). The subsequent imagery of the speaker pounding on their coffin lid because “[they] haven't finished yet” serves to warn adolescents that failing to live for the moment will result in a life that is not truly lived at all. Palmer
By utilizing another projection into an even further future, Palmer reveals what occurs when social pressures are taken off of adolescents as they progress into later adulthood. In an unspecified old age, the speaker believes that they will finally be allowed to begin living a life they enjoy. Paradoxically, Palmer insinuates the belief that age simultaneously is what removes us from the pressure of our cultural constraints but also is the product of their having fulfilled the prophecy of the 'person' they were intended to create. As Greenblatt claims, Western culture has a habit of perceiving them “as if culture is always harmonious rather than shifting and conflict-ridden” (Greenblatt 231). Palmer seems to agree with this assessment, given the nature of the way her speaking character begins to truly question whether or not they should be relying on social pressures to shape their personality and ultimately their life. The realization takes place in the …show more content…
While the West typically view “A life that fails to conform at all, that violates absolutely all the available patterns, will have to be dealt with as an emergency...” (Greenblatt 229), Palmer suggests that the opposite is true. By finally making the realization that they do not actually wish to conform to the norms that her their was supposed to fulfil and deciding to take matter into their own hands, Palmer implies that the true experience of life (as an entirely separate entity from the melancholic experience of youth) can finally begin. The realization is jarring, as implied by the oppositional repetition of the phrase “But that's not what I want / But that's what I wanted” but it helps with the final realization that there is no predestined outcome for lived experiences in human life (Palmer 3.35-36). The final paragraph reinforces this assessment. The speaker draws the conclusion that their perceptions about their culturally influenced constraints may truly be in their mind, and are therefore “Things that aren't really happening” (Palmer 4.42). The subsequent imagery of the speaker pounding on their coffin lid because “[they] haven't finished yet” serves to warn adolescents that failing to live for the moment will result in a life that is not truly lived at all. Palmer