Blog # 4 - The Modern Day Charlotte Temple

It is 6 o’clock in the morning; Bella does not feel like getting up and going to school. Not because she sick, but because she does not feel as though she fits in. One day while at the mall she meets an older guy named Bill. Unlike Bella, Bill is already in college. He is very good looking and seems to be quite wealthy. Immediately Bella become smitten with Bill. She no longer hates going to school because she now feels she is better than the other 12th graders. She is dating an older guy! Not only is he older but he seems to be smitten with her too. He buys her nice things and takes her to nice places. Her whole life becomes intertwined with his. He is her one and only. Everything seems to be perfect between them until he goes on spring break with some of his college buddies. Instead of calling her multiple times a day (like he did when they were both home) his phone calls start to dwindle off, from once a day to every other day. When he comes back home things seem to be different. Bella cannot however put her finger on what is wrong. Bill seems to be more distant. Instead of spending all his free time with her, like he used to do, he is now spending more time with his friends. One night when Bill is out with his friends, Bella gets a feeling in her gut that something is not right. She drives her car to Bills dorm and goes inside to find Bill on the futon with another girl. Bella is heartbroken. She is completely lost. Bill was her everything. She leaves the dorm and goes for a long drive, never to return again.

Blog # 3 - Charlotte Temple

Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson, an interesting bestselling novel, tells the story of the seduction of a British girl named Charlotte. She was a very innocent child and became corrupted by her peers. Although overall I enjoyed the novel, I found some of the vocabulary quite confusing (due to the fact that it was first published in the late 1700’s). At points especially in the beginning, I had a hard time keeping the characters and their motives together. Even though parts of the book were confusing to me, it was easy to see the different pressures that were placed on charlotte. These pressures eventually led to her demise. Even though La Rue was Charlotte’s teacher, she pressured Charlotte to do things that she did not want to do. She pressured Charlotte to sneak out late at night. Other peers also pressured Charlotte. Montraville pressured Charlotte to come to America. They moved to a little cabin, where Charlotte ended up spending a lot of time. Montraville ended up cheating on her, which in turn led to her demise and eventually her death. Charlotte really believed that he loved her; however he ended up leaving her with nothing. After reading the whole book it was obvious that things like this still happen to girls today (even though this story takes place many years earlier). Many teens believe and are trusting, while being pressured by peers. Girls can either learn from the situations like Charlotte’s, or in some cases, (like Charlotte’s) it can lead to their demise.

Blog #2 - Final Paper

Peer pressure, or “the social pressure by members of one’s peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted” (Dictionary.com) has occurred throughout history. Teens throughout the years have been faced with many pressures: Pressures that come from their families (including parents), friends, peers, teachers and society. For my final integrative paper I am planning to take a closer look at the pressures that are placed on teens by their peers. I am going to use the books we are reading in class (beginning with Charlotte Temple then the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, followed by Betsey Brown etc. ) to help explain how peer pressure has effected teenagers throughout history. The book I used for my individual project (The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll), and my personal experiences growing up during my teenage years will also be significant part of the paper I am writing. I know that while growing up my peers pressured me to dress and act a certain way. They put pressures on me both directly and indirectly. Although many times my friends and peers would pressure me to stay out later than I was allowed, and pressure me to date certain people, they also would put many indirect pressures on me. Pressures that they did not have to say but I felt none the less. I am very interested to see if peer pressures placed on teens today have changed throughout the years or if teens are still faced with many of the same peer pressures.