Teenage Wasteland?

The plot of “Teenage Wasteland” is centered around Donny, a defiant teenage boy who is constantly disappointing his parents and the authority figures around him. Through Donny’s story we see the importance of parenting and the negative effects of advice and persuasion from peers and counselors. Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland” is told from the point of view of an omniscient narrator, so we see all sides of the story from an objective view. The omniscient voice focuses mainly on Donny Coble’s mother, showing us her self-consciousness, her lack of confidence, and her lack of self-worth. All of these weaknesses are what affect Donny’s well being as her child and they also give way to a main theme of the short story.

As said by his psychologist, Donny “needs a better sense of self-worth,” and ironically “[t]hat night, Daisy (Donny’s mother) lay awake pondering the term ‘self-worth’” (11). Daisy is a woman with little self-worth trying to parent two children. After their second meeting with Donny’s principle, Donny’s parents, Matt and Daisy, are shocked at what they hear. They had to sit on “Mr. Lanham’s couch like two bad children and listen to the news…Daisy thought, how they must look to Mr. Lanham: an overweight housewife in a cotton dress and a too-tall, too-thin insurance agent in a baggy, frayed suit. Failures, both of them” (8). Instead of focusing on her son’s difficulties with discipline, school, and life in general, Daisy focuses on her own imperfections and how they may come off to Mr. Lanham. In an environment where the mother is naive and the father is virtually impalpable, any type of trouble with their children is almost expected. There are many examples throughout the short story that show Daisy’s lack of parenting skills, such as how in attempt to fix Donny’s problems, she somewhat neglects the younger sibling Amanda. The root of Donny’s behavioral issues lies in his parent’s naivety about how to raise a child properly.

Calvin Beadle, or Cal as “all his kids” called him ends up being the Cobles’ worst nightmare and he commandeers Donny into his “tutoring” group (14). However, the events that follow Donny’s entry into Cal’s world happen only because his mother lets them happen. Her pushover personality is exhibited throughout “Teenage Wasteland” and eventually drives Donny away from his own home. With Cal’s influence, Daisy completely changes her method of parenting, suggesting that there were no real boundaries in the first place. “The tutor had set down so many rules!” the narrator exclaims seemingly from Daisy’s mouth. She no longer is a parent figure to Donny, and has given all of the responsibility to Cal. After Donny is expelled from school because of numerous violations, he runs straight to Cal, who suggests a conference with Donny and Daisy. After panicking about where her son was, Daisy is soothed by the fact that Cal is handling the situation. Because of the outcome of the short story, Tyler suggests that parenting should be done by the parent only. Another thing Tyler suggests through both Cal and Daisy is that people are shaped through their experiences. Daisy “had a miserable adolescence herself and had always sworn no child of hers would ever be that unhappy” (40). We see now that her insecurities come from her childhood, and are projected onto Donny. In the story we also learn that Cal had been married to a controlling woman, “[s]he didn’t understand him a bit,” states Donny (58). Cal could have possibly gotten his relaxed, loose attitude by rebelling to his previous wife’s controlling attitude. Overall, with the examples of the bad parenting, controlling wife, and terrible childhood, Tyler is showing that every experience a person has shapes them.

A question that comes to mind when reading this short story is why Tyler chose to name it “Teenage Wasteland,” also the unofficial name of a popular rock song, officially known as “Baba O’Riley,” written by Pete Townshend of The Who. The song is even mentioned in the story as Daisy and Matt are observing a group of Cal’s students playing basketball in the driveway. She recognizes the song blaring from inside Cal’s house as “Teenage Wasteland” and Matt replies with “it certainly is,” thinking that she was describing the scene before them (60). One interpretation of “Baba O’Riley” is about having space to grow up with impunity and without imposition. Donny’s life did not embody this version of a teenage wasteland, but it may have turned out better if it had. With “Teenage Wasteland,” Tyler shows how vital good parenting is in raising a child, and what a hard task it is to take on.

Questions: 1. Why do you think Tyler chose the title “Teenage Wasteland” for her short story? And what do you think the song represents versus this short story?
2. Why do you think Donny ran away?
3. Do you think tough restrictions spark rebellion?