Analysis Of Anne Tyler's 'Teenage Wasteland'

Through the course of the novel, Daisy handles her husband?s affair very calmly. Even when Tom?s mistress telephones during dinner Daisy exclaims, ?it couldn?t be helped,? (20). Although she must obviously be hurting deeply on the inside, Daisy displays no physical signs of distress over her husband?s affair. This makes her appear stronger than she really is.

Daisy, on the other hand, seems at first as though she truly does love and care for her husband. While Tom keeps himself at a distance in both relationships, Daisy seems to possess an outright need for his company. This is supported by Jordan’s recollection of Daisy’s behavior towards Tom after marrying him: “If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘Where’s Tome gone?’ and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him coming in the door. She used to sit on the sand with his head in her lap by the hour, rubbing her fingers over his eyes and looking at him with unfathomable delight” (Fitzgerald, 76-77). That being said, there are in fact several signs that point toward Daisy not loving her husband at all. Perhaps the most notable is her behavior just before her and Tom’s wedding ceremony, when she is found “lying on her bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress – and as drunk as a monkey. She had a bottle of Sauterne in one hand and [Gatsby’s] letter in the other” (76). Daisy goes so far as to even momentarily call off the marriage altogether, ordering the bridesmaids to “tell ‘em all Daisy’s change’ her mine. Say: ‘Daisy’s change’ her mine!’” (76). Why, then, does she marry Tom after all and seem so in love with him afterwards? People usually seek out partners who will make them happy, protect them from that which they fear, etc. What does Daisy fear? She

“Teenage Wasteland" is told from Daisy's perspective. By doing this, Anne Taylor only gives us Daisy’s point of view of Donny. This may paint a completely different picture of what others think of him. From the very beginning of the story you get a sense of how Donny’s character will continue to change. “He used to have very blonde hair, almost white, cut shorter than other children so that on his crown a little cowlick always stood up to catch the light.” Donny was depicted to be innocent. Tyler uses the words “light”and “white” and this makes me think of only pure and good things. Soon after we see how Tyler changes her tone with Donny. “As he grew older, his hair grew darker, and he wore it longer-past his collar even.” To me this changes our view on Donny without even

“Fact has been suppressed by fiction, and the fiction is much more interesting to a lot of people.” Lizzie Borden, a thirty-two year old daughter of Andrew Borden and step-daughter of Abby Borden, was accused of murdering her father and stepmother. Lizzie Andrew Borden was innocent. She did not kill her father and stepmother for a number of reasons. Lizzie Borden was innocent because there was no physical evidence, she wasn’t nervous during the investigations, and there was no reason for her to kill them. Lizzie Borden was an innocent, desolate woman who deserved better than being accused for a serious case. Lizzie Borden did not injure her father and stepmother for the same reasons you wouldn’t kill your parents.

Daisy had an accident, she was immediately viewed as too old to drive by her son. That accident was a life changing event for Mrs. Daisy. She seemed to be a determined, strong, stern, and independent woman. When Boolie informed his mother that she can no longer drive and that she would be chauffeured places, she declined and insisted that she would find a way to get to her destinations. It seemed that she did not want any outside help from others that affected her directly. She simply did not want to change the way she did things or her routines, which to her means losing quite a bit of her independence. This is when another life changing event happened to Mrs. Daisy. Boolie hired an African American gentleman by the name of Hoke to chauffeur his mother around. She immediately gave him the cold shoulder and informed him that she did not need his services. She even accused Hoke of stealing a can of salmon from her pantry. Indeed, he did take the can of salmon and openly admitted that the accusations were true, also with a can of salmon in hand to replace the one he had eaten. I believe this was another turning point for Mrs. Daisy. Even though she turned her nose up at Hoke, he was persistent, humble and honest, something she just could not shake easily. His patience instilled trust within Mrs. Daisy opposed to her son who just was too busy to spend quality time with his

Daisy married more for convince. Other than the affairs, differences in marriage can be found. For starters, Daisy is romantic. She once says,

It is Daisy's view on parenting that causes her to turn to Cal as a tutor for Donny in the hopes that he has all the answers. At Cal's house, Donny and the other teenagers are drawn to the the basketball court. Basketballs are a reoccurring symbol throughout the story. The narrator states, “Spring came, and the students who hung around at Cal's drifted out to the basketball net above the garage” (Tyler 192). Spring often represents new life and youth. The narrator continues, “They'd find him there with the othersspiky and excited, jittering on his toes beneath the backboard” (Tyler 192). Donny is “jittering” and “excited” while playing basketball during the spring. Hence, the basketball symbolizes happiness during Donny's youth. A basketball is mentioned again at the end of the story: “It's something fleet and round, a balla basketball. It flies up, it sinks through the hoop, descends, lands in a yard

Tom’s infidelity in his marriage clearly expresses his views about his wife, Daisy. In seeking an affair, he conveys that Daisy is deficient and not worthy of devotion. Daisy knows of his affairs, but because of the time period and their social class, she is helpless to do anything. As a woman in the 20th century, it would destroy Daisy to divorce Tom, even though the entirety of New York knows about Tom’s affair.

Daisy's action and choices are extremely defined by her "East egg" way of life, which is a representation of old

Tom drained Daisy of all her independence the instant they tied the knot and agreed to conform to a typical marriage. He takes advantage of this situation and not only abuses his control over Daisy, but manipulates her to completely depend on him. Daisy has always been used to someone telling her what to do, and her relationship with Tom is no different. She is not a whole person without him to the point where even, “If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘‘Where’s Tom gone?’ and wear the most abstract expression until she

Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland” is a story about a modern day family of four and the relationship issues they experienced with each other. The story is presented in third person limited; however, the reader is shown much about how the mother of the family feels and the troubles she experiences in her relationships with her husband and children, primarily her son Donny. Daisy is portrayed as a mother who worries that she had failed Donny because of his continual disobedience toward the authority figures in his life. Donny is a teen who constantly misbehaves in school and in the story is described as “noisy, lazy, and disruptive; always fooling around with his friends, and would not respond in class.” (188). These behaviors lead Donny to

Personally, “The Sanctuary of School” offers the strongest conflict. Namely, the conflict of Man v. Society, because troubled children like Lynda Barry contend with those who think before and after school programs are unimportant.

When Tom claims that Daisy actually does love him, he suppresses her opinion by putting words in her mouth to aid his argument. Tom perceives the need that he must speak for his wife as if she can not speak for herself. Also, Tom claims that Daisy obtains “foolish ideas,” and that she “doesn’t know what she’s doing.” He implies that she is crazy and it is understandable that she fools around because of that. This reflects the misogynistic views men had towards women in this time period as they silenced women with their opinions to prove their

Daisy illustrates the typical women of high social standing; her life is moulded by society’s expectations. She is dependent and subservient to her husband. She is powerless in her marriage.

Tom takes advantage of this situation and manipulates Daisy to completely depend on him. Daisy has spent her whole life being used to someone telling her what to do, and her relationship with Tom is no different. Even right after they got married, “If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘‘Where’s Tom gone?’ and wear the most abstract expression until she saw him coming in the door” (77). Daisy relies solely on Tom and is “uneasy” without him around. Her dependence on Tom reflects not only his hyper masculinity, but how little he cares about Daisy. Despite this, he knows Daisy will never leave him, and pushes their marriage to the brink by having multiple affairs.