This is our all American youth - Admission/Application Essay Example

The two literary works which trace this journey that we are going to consider are a play by Kenneth Lonergan called ‘This is our Youth’ and ‘All American Poem’ by Matthew Dickman. The play ‘This is our Youth’ talks about three young people on the edge of adulthood. Dennis Ziegler who is twenty two years old, is bullying, dynamic and kind hearted person. Warren Straub, driven out of his house by his father, is a nineteen year old who is confused and being dominated by Dennis constantly.

Jessica Goldman is a cheerful girl in the play who is defensive and confident at the same time about her own decisions regarding her life. The play opens when Warren having driven out by his father for smoking pot comes to Denis’ apartment to stay. Dennis takes Warren in but constantly reminds him that he is a loser and treats him very bad. On seeing that Warren has stolen cash from his father, his first thought is about his own safety and he wants to drive Warren out. Finally Warren persuades Dennis to let him stay and meets his love interest Jessica there.

They go out in the night. Second day when Dennis asks about their relationship, Warren admits the physical closeness he shared with Jessica to him. When Jessica visits the apartment later, Dennis is openly questioning about the previous night but leaves soon after. Jessica feels extremely insecure about his behaviour but feels strangely attracted towards Dennis. She confronts Warren. Warren admits he has shared a few details about previous night to Dennis but asserts that he respects the girl a lot.

She however insists on leaving immediately and asks for Warren’s most valuable possession as a gift. He reluctantly gives to her but she eventually hands it over back to him and leaves. Warren has a long talk with his father over phone and admits that he stole the money and the hate he feels for his father. Dennis returns and is extremely upset about the death of one of his acquaintances due to drug overdose. He decides to give up the habit of drugs and start a new life again. Warren asserts that Dennis has always been his hero which calms Dennis.

The play ends on Warren’s decision to go back home. Matthew Dickman’s poems in ‘All American Poems’ represent the American society and culture in the most authentic way. He gives a young and fresh perspective to whatever that happens around him and in an understandably detached manner. He views the world through the lens of humour, irony, aloofness all at the same time. The most interesting aspect of this poetry is his use of examples, to reinforce his point of view on the reader. The examples he uses shock the reader but at the same time one has to admit the extreme visual it provides to the reader.

The subtlety of the poems blends with its frankness wildly. The mixture becomes heady for the reader and gives a dreamy experience to the reader which is grounded in reality. Both works discuss young and youthful age extensively. Through various images Dickman uses, he portrays a sensitive person who absorbs whatever is happening around him. Lonergan deals with two concepts facing the youth in the play. These are coming of age and the fears associated with it and identity crisis and both constitute a part of growing up.

Warren who is all of nineteen treats Dennis as his role model. Dennis is hardly old himself and tries to project a confident, suave image all the time. He keeps reminding Warren that it is he who is making their young lives a memory forever. But later