Motherly Hardships In this day and time being a mother is not an easy job. There are so many challenges down the road of motherhood. Responsibility is of the utmost importance when it comes to raising children, especially when they become teenagers. A person should be extremely patient and understanding. Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland” gives one view of how difficult it can be when trying to raise a teenage boy. In “Teenage Wasteland, “Daisy, a mother of two, is faced with a conflict between she and her son Donny. Donny is a fifteen-year-old boy who begins to rebel socially and academically in school. Daisy is informed by the Mr. Lanham, Donny’s principal, that Donny has been acting out and his grades have been declining. Daisy tries her
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Tyler gives the impression that Daisy believed that encouraging a child too much could ultimately ruin the child. She writes, “She had always been free with her praise” (189). Later she writes “In fact, maybe she had gone too far”(189). It is as if Daisy associates Donny’s failing as a student with her failing as a parent. Tyler shows that Daisy thought she was being neglectful to Donny when Amanda was born by writing “She remembered when Amanda was born, Donny had acted lost and bewildered (190)”. Daisy blamed herself to a point of utter confusion. She hadn’t realized that Donny’s reaction was a normal one for a young child with a new sibling. Tyler’s character Cal is antagonistic to Daisy. Cal is more relaxed, confident, and assertive with Donny, while Daisy is more self-conscious, and indecisive. Cal relates to Donny by showing that he understands him, he shows interest in what Donny has to say and how he feels about different subjects. He plays rock music and even introduces Donny to the song “Teenage Wasteland,” which Tyler titles her story. Donny is excited to be a part of Cal’s “sociable group,” as he describes the many teens who “sometimes stay on after their sessions, just to rap
Tyler gives the impression that Daisy believed that encouraging a child too much could ultimately ruin the child. She writes, “She had always been free with her praise” (189). Later she writes “In fact, maybe she had gone too far”(189). It is as if Daisy associates Donny’s failing as a student with her failing as a parent. Tyler shows that Daisy thought she was being neglectful to Donny when Amanda was born by writing “She remembered when Amanda was born, Donny had acted lost and bewildered (190)”. Daisy blamed herself to a point of utter confusion. She hadn’t realized that Donny’s reaction was a normal one for a young child with a new sibling. Tyler’s character Cal is antagonistic to Daisy. Cal is more relaxed, confident, and assertive with Donny, while Daisy is more self-conscious, and indecisive. Cal relates to Donny by showing that he understands him, he shows interest in what Donny has to say and how he feels about different subjects. He plays rock music and even introduces Donny to the song “Teenage Wasteland,” which Tyler titles her story. Donny is excited to be a part of Cal’s “sociable group,” as he describes the many teens who “sometimes stay on after their sessions, just to rap