Introduction
This Is Our Youth is a play by Kenneth Lonergan, an American screenwriter and dramatist. The play was first presented in an Off-Broadway theater in 1996, after which it was shown by many countries all over the world. The plot of the play takes place in New York in 1982. There are forty-eight hours of the life of three teenagers, each of which has certain opinions and social issues. Nineteen-year-old Warren stole fifteen thousand dollars from his business magnate father, Dennis, his charismatic friend and drug dealer, is ready to “usefully” invest money, and seventeen-year-old Jessica observes these events with anxiety. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that these teenagers have only one night to spend money. The exploration of the difficulties that occur during the transition from adolescence to adulthood is the key message of the play.
Exploring Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood
The eternal topics of adolescence and maturity compose the core ideas of This Is Our Youth play. It begins with the presentation of Dennis, the son of the abusive tycoon, who stole $15, 000 before being kicked out of his house by his father. Dennis has a plan for Warren to get laid with his girlfriend and enjoy cocaine. Along with using drugs, the guys also think about selling them to keep the money they have. Such plans might seem credible, but the characters of the play are teenagers who are seeking their place in the world and have a tendency to self-destruction. They are authentic and emotional, which makes both Dennis and Warren quite impulsive, with assertive motions and the defeated inner self.
The play expressively speaks about the end of the 1980s as Lonergan wittily expressed a timeless generational conflict and a moment in US history that continues to affect people’s feelings today. The growing alienation destroying the social fabric of civil society was a consequence of a long period of consumerism and the desire to achieve the highest degree of comfort. In the 1950-1960s, consumer values occupied a dominant position in culture (Gale 38). The most obvious manifestation of the counterculture was the change in lifestyle. Demonstrating distaste for consumer standards, young Americans began to grow long hair, mark clothes in all colors of the rainbow, and wear them to the holes.
In This Is Our Youth Play, the viewers observe the radical manifestations of counterculture, such as the active passion of young people for smoking marijuana and the use of stronger hallucinogens and other drugs. It served as a social accelerator, helping to radically change feelings, and strengthening the belief that generally accepted social norms and institutions are controversial, irrelevant, and corrupt. The market’s emphasis on competitive individualism created a culture, in which self-interest and personal gain are more important than feelings of interdependence and connection between people. The dialogues between the characters of the play are full of the denial of these social values. However, they also know little about what they want to change to feel better. A lack of understanding of their own future makes the characters quite passive and frustrated, which is expressed in their escapist behaviors.
The play shows the period when an adolescent becomes an adult, which is, in many cases, associated with painful emotions, rejection of social norms, and self-destruction. The exploration of this process is one of the key messages of the play. One may assume that the author wanted to state that any person has to pass through these thoughts, losses, and failures, which strengthens and makes the person change. The progression is an inevitable outcome of any tendencies that are related to self-reflection, the interaction with others, and philosophical discussions. Even though it seems that the play begins and ends almost similarly, there is a significant change in the characters.
Jessica, for example, should be noted for her views of existentialism which was characteristic of the society of that time. Compared to Warren, she becomes more aware that reality and momentum are much more important than living in pseudo-reality. Nevertheless, she is also confused likewise other characters, having a need to link the emotional element to her life. In this connection, Jessica can be regarded as a more realistic person, who manages to control her feelings and thoughts to structure them and better understand herself.
In terms of existential psychology, it is not just a philosophical movement, but also a cultural, which integrates the deepest spiritual and emotional aspects of people’s viewpoints. It depicts the psychological condition, where a person finds himself or herself, namely, the presentation of the authentic psychological challenges. Speaking about the ideas that are included in existentialism, a person should find himself or herself in some borderline situation, for example, in the face of death, with the aim of realizing oneself as existence. As a result, the world becomes intimately close to a person. In the play, the characters do not face death or any other related experience, but their situation can also be called a borderline as they have to ponder over their current and future behaviors.
Intuition is regarded as a unique way of cognition, serving to penetrate into the world of existence. The intuitive actions and ideas of characters take a significant place in the given play. Namely, an important role is given to the identification and solution of freedom-related issues, which are defined as the choice of a person of one of the innumerable possibilities. The animals and objects cannot acquire freedom as they immediately possess the essence. Human beings, however, comprehend their essence throughout their lives and are responsible for every taken action, where the mistakes cannot be merely explained by circumstances. Thus, from the point of existentialism that is integrated into the play, a person as a “project” builds itself. Ultimately, it is possible to state that Dennis, Warren, and Jessica come to some extent of understanding that ideal freedom is the freedom of an individual from society.
The topic of privilege is discovered in the play based on the progression of Warren, who steadily gets rid of Dennis’ domination. In their relationships, Dennis was an alpha, controlling everything and generating new ideas (Gale 56). This alpha perfectly manipulates others, he is quick-witted and creative, which makes him a leader, but the last scenes show that Warren stands up to his friend and requires explanations about why Dennis has such a negative attitude toward his family. This step represents that two adolescents are equal now as they can speak without dependency. After the conversation, Warren reveals that Dennis is a hero to him, which makes Dennis cry and talk about the failures of his father. Even though it is only a little step to break free from Dennis’ control, one may suggest that Warren would move in the chosen direction.
The monologue of Dennis that is given at the end of the play is probably the most representative part that helps to better understand the message of the play. Warren answers Dennis’ question about what he is going to do: “I don’t know, man. I guess I’ll just go home.” These words reflect that he is still on his way to adulthood from adolescence since this is a long journey that takes much effort and time. Nevertheless, the progress made in the given period of time seems to be contributing to the process of transformation.
Conclusion
To conclude, it should be stated that This Is Our Youth play presents a range of human portraits, each of which has unique experiences and goes along the way towards adulthood. Dennis, the leader of the company, decides to return home and recognize his behaviors, Warren becomes less dependent on Dennis, and Jessica realizes the value of momentum. While these characters still need to grow as personalities to enter adulthood, the play shows their thoughts and interactions that help in understanding the progress they made.
Work Cited
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Kenneth Lonergan’s” This Is Our Youth”. Cengage Learning, 2016.