ROAR BLOG #1: The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager

Courtney Patterson
Roar Blog
March 26, 2010

Roar #1
Summary:
In the book The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager written by Thomas Hine, the readers find out a little bit about Hine’s background and why he started writing the book. Hines found out that he began write this books a few decades before, because of a school project that he had to do. The project caused him to think about where teenagers fit in and the impact that they had society. In the process of finding out about teenagers he found out more about himself and what his interests were.
The term “teenagers” was created around the time of World War II and it described an age group that advertising and marketing were seeing had become buyers. Over time the meaning of the world “teenagers” or ‘teens” had changed. The meaning of these words became people who are in same place like high school, young, open to new things, and have a common experience. The image that America crated about teens is both positive and negative, but the negative image is expressed more often. The negative image is expressed by people hearing about teens killing other teens; teenagers had kids at a young age, teenagers killing the children they have, and other crimes. The positive acts that teenagers commit are likely to be overlooked and forgotten about.
Although many people see teenagers as “problems,” today’s teenagers are improving, in some ways. There is a larger amount of teens graduating from high school and going to college. They want to better themselves and they are event taking a part of the work force in America. At the end of the day as much as teenagers like their freedom and hanging around their friends, they still want attention from their parents. Hines believe that teens still need and want some advice from their parents because their parents still have a big affect on the teen’s lives.
*Pages summarized 1-26


Quote:
“Maybe I’m something special, and maybe I’m not. Maybe I’m here for a reason and I might be going somewhere after this, but then again I might not. I wonder where I fit in?” (Hines 2).


Reaction:
My reaction to this quote is that it describes how many teens think and it helps the readers better understand teenagers. This quote help many teens decide if what they are going with their lives going to change the world or is it even going to matter in the long run. Thomas Hine’s writing style is to give the facts about the American teenager’s lives, but add in a little bit of his background, what he believes, and how he grew up. Hines used many quotes to back up his comments and he does not stick to one side more than the other. He is just trying to explain that teenagers are all different and different times throughout the American history called for different teens.