Adolescence marks the turning point of an individual's life, establishing the foundation of their development.

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        Adolescence marks the turning point of an individual’s life, establishing the foundation of their development.  It is during this phase that individuals leave behind the comfort of childhood and enter a reality beset with new perceptions of life.  There are many stages of life, each enclosing its own distinct characteristics.  As evident in the short story, Master of Disaster, written by Guy Vanderhagae, adolescence involves growth as an individual, both physically and emotionally.  Although each phase has its own challenges and difficulties, adolescence proves to be the most difficult stage of life to overcome.  Through examination of the situations in the story, it becomes apparent that adolescence involves experiencing emotional conflicts between friends, searching for one’s identity amid a period of change and overcoming the negative influence of peer pressure.  

        Adolescence is a stage of life, overwhelmed by emotional conflicts between friends.  It is a period of time where emotional instincts are weighed more than good judgement, when making decisions that will alter the outcome of the future.  As evident in the story, there exists a strong emotional bond between Bernie and Kurt, “Whatever I withheld from Hiller, whatever would have been unspeakable in the company of the others was confided to Kurt Meinecke.”  (Vanderhagae, Page 59)  It is apparent that trust is the foundation of their friendship.    Trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth and strength of an individual.  However, Bernie decides to betray this trust, in choosing not to advise him of the intentions of Norman Hiller, “Norman was the flashy type, the guy who collected followers, collected them the way he did baseball cards and Superman comic books.  I was seventeen the summer he collected Meinecke, old enough to have said something, to have warned by innocent friend, but I didn’t.”  (Vanderhagae, Page 55)  Bernie is aware of Norman’s personality, yet he declines to tell Kurt the truth.  This exemplifies only one of the many emotional obstacles adolescents are forced to overcome.  They are often faced with a decision that will affect the outcome of life.  In this situation, Bernie is torn between telling Kurt the truth and the fear that Norman will punish him for doing so.  In the past, as a result of contradicting Norman’s beliefs about a movie, Bernie was subjected to being ignored by his peers, “Norman put the word out and nobody did talk to me.  I was shunned, given the silent treatment for a month and a half before I managed to weasel my way back into Norman’s good graces.”  (Vanderhagae, Page 58)  This illustrates the power Norman has among his friends.  He is seen as the leader of the group, so everyone abides to his every demand.  Bernie is conscious of this, persuading him even more to keep the truth from Kurt.  At this point, he is emotionally unstable.  He feels obliged to tell his friend, however, he is afraid of having to face the consequences of doing so.  Bernie is in a lose, lose situation.  Whatever he decides to do will affect him a negative manner.  He is also fearful of being honest to Kurt, in the sense that it might hurt him emotionally, “I was going to tell him.  Of course, I never did.  Truly sweet and gentle souls never get told what the rest of us do.  Kurt Meinecke was so incorrigibly innocent…” (Vanderhagae, Page 61)  This too is an important factor in his decision to hide the truth.  He does not want to overburden him, emotionally, so he keeps it to himself.  Adolescence can be compared to an emotional roller coaster.  Both go up, then descend, but hardly ever do they remain constant for a long period of time.  Adolescents are at a point in life where emotions and feelings have a big impact on decisions made.  Bernie’s choice not to inform Kurt, eventually contributes to the failure of their friendship, as visible in the following quote, “Kurt was never the same guy after the fight…He avoided me too.  No more long conversations late at night after the pool room closed down, walking those empty streets and talking about how, just around the corner, things were going to fall into place for us.  When we ran into each other, we nodded, said a few words about nothing, and then edged away from each other like people who share a secret they would sooner forget.”  (Vanderhagae, Page 83)  This exemplifies one of the many consequences of decisions formed on the basis of emotions.  They tend to cloud an individual’s mind, distancing them from reason.  Adolescents are more inclined to think with their heart and not with their mind.  Thus, as evident through the downfall of their friendship, emotional conflict is one of the many hardships faced by adolescents in today’s society.

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        As an adolescent, one is just beginning to establish an identity, however this is difficult during a time where changes constantly occur.  Adolescence marks the transition from childhood to adulthood.  Within this time, young people are forced to adjust to changes, from which they are expected to develop their own individuality.  During this time, adolescents are advised to achieve one of the most critical tasks, to answer the question, “Who Am I?”.  The short story, Master of Disaster, thoroughly focuses on Kurt Meinecke’s journey in search of his identity.  At the beginning he is characterized as, “mild and innocent” (Vanderhagae, ...

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