How does the literature present the teenager?
In the poem Hanging Fire, by Audre Lorde, the adolescent is presented as a young person who, although acts a lot older than they are, is really still a kid on the inside. When teens try and find themselves, they tend to want to be treated differently and they will not have the confidence that they used to have- a childish obliviousness to the world and just being happy all the time. But when they find themselves, they will more likely than not retain that type of confidence where they feel happy and good about themselves all the time. In the poem, the teen is presented in their early stages of adolescence. They do not have a lot of confidence in themselves and making a lot of childish mistakes, like thinking something is a bigger deal than it really is. Overtime that will deteriorate. When the author says that her skin has “betrayed me” (Line 2), it is showing her lack of self-esteem. It illustrates how sometimes teens get acne or do not look the way they would like to and think that the world is going to end, making it a much bigger deal than it really is. It shows their childishness. The author has very little confidence in herself when she writes “what if I die before morning and momma is in the bedroom with the door closed” (Lines 8-11). The feeling I get from the quote is that she feels like her mom does not care if she dies all of a sudden or that she will not notice that she is gone, all the while, her mom loves her to death. It illustrates how a teen will have such little confidence that even their own parents do not care about them or even like them. When the author is wondering whether she is going to “live long enough to grow up and momma is still in the bedroom with the door closed” (Lines 32-35), she does not think that her mom will ever appreciate her and think that she has done something good. In fact, more extreme but a lot like teens today, she is thinking of committing suicide. She has now said twice that she does not know if she will grow up implying that she does not like herself at all. Sometimes teenagers feel bad about themselves because they either looked bad, messed up, or just they are just not quite where everyone else is. Although it is a hard place to be, most teens end up alright and in a good spot in the end.
Did the authors get it right? Does the literature accurately define the teenager?
I do think that the author got it right, and that the literature accurately describes the contemporary teen. I think so because teenagers often lack self-confidence when they are trying to find who they are. They want to be treated like an adult but do not want to have the responsibilities of an adult like having to work for a living, having to cook their own food, or having family related responsibilities. Teens often will do things to make themselves seem like they are more mature or older than they really are, but in reality they are still just a kid.
In the poem Hanging Fire, by Audre Lorde, the adolescent is presented as a young person who, although acts a lot older than they are, is really still a kid on the inside. When teens try and find themselves, they tend to want to be treated differently and they will not have the confidence that they used to have- a childish obliviousness to the world and just being happy all the time. But when they find themselves, they will more likely than not retain that type of confidence where they feel happy and good about themselves all the time. In the poem, the teen is presented in their early stages of adolescence. They do not have a lot of confidence in themselves and making a lot of childish mistakes, like thinking something is a bigger deal than it really is. Overtime that will deteriorate. When the author says that her skin has “betrayed me” (Line 2), it is showing her lack of self-esteem. It illustrates how sometimes teens get acne or do not look the way they would like to and think that the world is going to end, making it a much bigger deal than it really is. It shows their childishness. The author has very little confidence in herself when she writes “what if I die before morning and momma is in the bedroom with the door closed” (Lines 8-11). The feeling I get from the quote is that she feels like her mom does not care if she dies all of a sudden or that she will not notice that she is gone, all the while, her mom loves her to death. It illustrates how a teen will have such little confidence that even their own parents do not care about them or even like them. When the author is wondering whether she is going to “live long enough to grow up and momma is still in the bedroom with the door closed” (Lines 32-35), she does not think that her mom will ever appreciate her and think that she has done something good. In fact, more extreme but a lot like teens today, she is thinking of committing suicide. She has now said twice that she does not know if she will grow up implying that she does not like herself at all. Sometimes teenagers feel bad about themselves because they either looked bad, messed up, or just they are just not quite where everyone else is. Although it is a hard place to be, most teens end up alright and in a good spot in the end.
Did the authors get it right? Does the literature accurately define the teenager?
I do think that the author got it right, and that the literature accurately describes the contemporary teen. I think so because teenagers often lack self-confidence when they are trying to find who they are. They want to be treated like an adult but do not want to have the responsibilities of an adult like having to work for a living, having to cook their own food, or having family related responsibilities. Teens often will do things to make themselves seem like they are more mature or older than they really are, but in reality they are still just a kid.
"Stillness of Heart" by Lenny Kravitz
This song is about finding peace after a long time of sorrow, stress, or anything that makes you feel anything other than peace and happiness. It is a song about a new beginning.
Sources
LennyKravitzVEVO. "Lenny Kravitz- Stillness of Heart" YouTube. YouTube, 6 May 2011. Web. 19 May 2014.
Mays, Kelly J. “Hanging Fire by Audre Lorde” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Spencer Richardson-Jones.
New York: New York, 2013.
LennyKravitzVEVO. "Lenny Kravitz- Stillness of Heart" YouTube. YouTube, 6 May 2011. Web. 19 May 2014.
Mays, Kelly J. “Hanging Fire by Audre Lorde” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Spencer Richardson-Jones.
New York: New York, 2013.