Daisy's Parenting Struggle

Teenage Wasteland was the most impressive of the week’s short stories because it addressed bad human behavior and made me think about its cause. Depending on what the reader believes is the cause of Donny’s bad actions, he or she forms an opinion about Donny’s family life, in particular his mother Daisy.

In the past I have heard different ideas about why people act the way they do, such as the “nature vs. nurture” argument. “Nature” is the hereditary force upon a person and “nurture” is how that individual has been raised. I believe that the two are both important in the make-up of someone’s personality, but that the combination of the two influences differs depending upon the particular person. In Donny’s case I think that “nature” is the main problem. The narrator gives no evidence of anything that the parents did wrong to provoke Donny’s rebellious behavior. Therefore, his parents were not to blame for the start of the problems and their extreme struggle to help Donny should not be criticized.

Although Daisy is not the perfect mother by any means, she tried her very best to help her son. The story portrays her as a loving mom who dearly wants to help her son, but her personality thwarts her noble effort. Daisy’s insecurity and gullibility make it harder for her to choose the best oath to Donny’s recovery. When Daisy is called into the principal’s office, she is “shamed” and feels like a “delinquent parent” because her son is causing disruption in the school. Then, when she leaves the office, she “held her stomach in” because she is worried about looking like an overweight housewife. Her behavior during this scene reveals her insecurity as a woman, but not her inability to be a good mother. After the conference, she takes action by checking Donny’s homework daily. Daisy exhausts herself by all of the attention that she gives Donny. Unfortunately, the school calls again and Daisy has to try a new strategy. Daisy is willing to do whatever it takes to help Donny. Her next attempt is scheduling a visit for him with a psychologist who then refers Donny to a tutor named Cal. Cal takes advantage of Daisy’s gullibility by demanding full control of communication with Donny’s school regarding Donny’s progress. Daisy feels completing defeated by her failed attempts to help Donny and agrees to handover all power to Cal. Daisy is scared and unsure about how to handle her son’s growing problems. She feels that she has done everything she can do to help her son and that Cal is Donny’s last hope. It is easy to criticize her for allowing Cal to take such authority, but she is desperate and Cal appears to be the only remaining answer. Also, Cal is not a random man; he is referred to her by a certified psychologist. Daisy is susceptible to the audience’s judgment because she could have intervened sooner or done something different; but, I still believe that it is not fully in her power to save someone who does not want to be saved. Even if she had the opportunity to try again, I do not know what she would have had to do to save Donny.
540 words