Rebellion

 Disobeying, breaking the rules, disregarding others’ wishes.  All of these are
types of rebellion.  What is it that motivates people to act in such a manner, and what
are the consequences?   Rebellion is acting in a manner that you are not supposed to
according to society and parental figures.  When a person is acting in such rebellious
ways, it is important to consider the motivations and consequences of their acts.  If
people are rebelling, they most likely have intentions for their motives and thoughts
about the consequences of their act.  When people have the desire to do something,
they follow through with these actions regardless of what will happen afterwards.
There is an impulse that leads a person to rebel.  People want to rebel in order to prove
to others that they are capable of rebelling.  It is more than just doing what you are not
supposed to, it is the need for attention from others that causes one to rebel.  As
rebellion causes negative things to occur; it also gives a person the attention they were
looking for through their particular rebellion.  Therefore, rebellion is an act of a person
that is inconspicuously seeking attention they feel is lacking.
 A type of rebellion with a negative outcome is teenagers disobeying their
parents.  Kids know that they will be in trouble if they disregard rules set by their
parents and they will only be hurting themselves, but they do it anyway.  Their motives
are to prove to their parents that they will attempt to do whatever they want in order to
get the attention they are looking for.  Consequences are usually not positive in
situations such as this.  Since people know these negative consequences, it is hard to
decipher why they would continue their habits.
 When applying these thoughts to the works we have studied in class, it is easy
to assess connections where a child disregards her parents.  In Joyce Carol Oates’
Where Are You Going, Where have you been?, Connie was rebelling towards her
parents.  She was deliberately acting in a manner that they would not approve of.
Connie acted this way in order to achieve the attention that was lacking from her
parents.   Connie’s parents constantly belittled her by saying things such as “Stop
gawking at yourself, who are you?  You think you are so pretty?”  Parents should be
supportive of their children and love them unconditionally.  Connie did not receive this
from her parents; therefore, she acted in ways to be noticed.  She did things such as
strutting herself in front of boys and doing her hair beautifully.  Her parents did not
approve of these actions which is why it was rebellion on Connie’s part.  Connie’s
motivation was to let her parents know that she would do whatever she wanted to.  Her
consequences were not positive, but she acted in this manner anyway.
 The negative consequence was obviously Arnold Friend going to Connie’s
house.  He tried to get control over Connie in order to rape her or murder her, and he
was successful.  Connie let this man antagonize her to the fullest extent until he won.
Negative consequences arose from Connie’s rebellion, yet she still rebelled.  She knew
that nothing good would arise from her actions, whether it was her parents disapproval
or her physical endangerment.  Connie learned the hard way that rebellion can cause
terrible things to happen, but it was her decision to act this way.
 When I was reading this story, I was immediately reminded of my sister.  As a
young girl she did things in order to be noticed.  She always acted in ways that my
parents would not approve of, but she did these things in order to get their attention.
One day years ago she and her friend wanted to go for a ride on their bikes in the
neighborhood.  My parents told them they could ride in the driveway and on our street
only.  Naturally, my sister began a journey around the entire neighborhood.  They were
riding for a while and they suddenly encountered a strange man.  Being only eleven
years old, they were very frightened by the appearance of this person.  When he began
talking to them, they became even more scared and did not know what to do.  After a
few minutes of panicking they fled to a nearby house.  Luckily the home belonged to
someone they knew and they reached safety.  We will never know what would have
happened to my sister and her friend if the continued to talk to this man.  Connie did
not get out of her situation like my sister.  Things for my sister could have easily turned
out like Connie’s situation with Arnold Friend.  My sister and Connie both rebelled in
order to get attention from their parents.  Although they both knew they were wrong
they went through with their rebellious actions and potentially put their lives in danger.
 Another character we studied that acted foolishly in terms of negative
consequences of rebellion was Austin in The True West.  Austin wanted to go to the
desert in order to escape the problems in his life and live a life of solitude.  His
motivations were to go to the desert for freedom from the real world.  The desert was a
place of quiet, peaceful living, which interested Austin.  He saw Lee’s life and wanted
to have a life like his.  Even though he had a wife and family at home, he wanted to
leave.  Austin’s mother warned him about his family so it was apparent that he knew
he was rebelling, but he did it anyway.
 The consequences of his departure would have been his family no longer
having him around.  Austin would be rebelling because he would be doing what he
was not supposed to in terms of his family commitments.  His family would not have a
husband or father to be part of their family.  Austin was still persistent in going away
and begged Lee to take him.  Austin would not only be hurting his family but also
himself.  He would potentially lose all contact with his home and jeopardize his writing
career.  Austin had to have been aware of what would have happened if he left,
although this did not change his desire to leave.
 Austin is similar to Connie in the sense that they both knew that they were
rebelling and causing negative effects to themselves and the people around them.  For
different reasons they were still motivated to act accordingly and continue their
rebellion.  They were driven to complete their actions regardless of the outcomes, and
they were attempting to be noticed indirectly.  People still rebel in cases like these
because their motivations are very strong.  Their drives and intent surpasses the
long-term effects and consequences of the situations.  For these reasons people rebel
regardless of the consequences even though they are negative.
 As Austin rebelled against his family in The True West, Mary in The Rhythm of
the Walk, also rebelled against her family.  When Mary took Timmy to get his hair cut,
she knew that Frank would not approve of the new style.  Mary proceeded to take
Timmy to the beauty parlor which resulted in a fight between her and her husband.
Mary wanted to prove to Frank that he did not control her life and she would do as she
pleased.  This is apparent by her actions, but getting Timmy’s hair cut was unnecessary
and only caused a fight.  Mary made a sarcastic comment when she said “Don’t you
like it?”  She knew that Frank did not like the haircut but she acted as if she was
surprised at his reaction.
 Mary’s rebellion was different from Connie’s because Connie got in trouble
through her rebellion.  Mary could not have gotten into trouble by her rebellion but it
was still rebellion.  Connie’s and Mary’s actions were both deliberate attempts to anger
other people and their outcomes were both negative.  The types of negativity were
different circumstances, but this does not mean they were not rebelling.  Austin was
similar to Mary in the sense that he also did not get into trouble by rebelling.  Connie
jeopardized her life by rebelling where as Mary and Austin did not.
 Rebellion is something that happens all the time in our everyday lives.  People
do things they are not supposed to even though they know that it will bring negative
outcomes.  This past weekend my sister acted in a manner that defined my thesis
exactly; she acted in a way that would blatantly grab my parents’ attention.  My parents
are on vacation and they did not want anyone to enter the house while they were gone.
My sister disregarded these wishes of my parents and went home from school to have a
party.  Obviously at college there are many parties, but she wanted to go home and get
my parents to notice her.  She knew that my parents would find out because the
neighbors were watching the house, and therefore, she would get in trouble.  This did
not stop my sister one bit because she proceeded to have the party.  She got caught that
same night and now has to deal with my parents fury.  My sister’s motivation to rebel
against the rules exceeded  the negative consequences she would later have to face and
therefore followed through with her rebellion.  While she may be on her own at
college, she still has not gone into adulthood, and continues to go back home to make
sure that my parents are there noticing her.  She achieves this by disobeying and
rebelling to get their undivided attention.