“Risky behavior, Bad rewards”: Debating Teenage Rebellion in an Urban Legend

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Gisela Mendez Language and written expression IV

“Risky behavior, Bad rewards”: Debating Teenage Rebellion in an Urban Legend

Breaking the law and arguing. Why do teenagers act the way they do? If at least they would know! All teens go through similar phases: the need for independence, a separate identity and testing authority. In consequence, there are very few perfectly behaved teenagers. Many of them take part in some kind of dangerous, unhealthy or antisocial pursuit. Rebelling in teenagers is often symbolic. They want to look grown up and impress their friends. When parents disapprove their actions, teenagers’ behaviour tends to be worse and arguments are common. They defy adult restrictions deliberately as a way of asserting their independence. Teenage rebellion is portrayed in the urban legend “Dancing with the Devil” by S. E. Schlosser. This ghost story tells about a teenage girl who decides to go to the high school dance against her mother´s warning about the presence of the devil at that dance. She puts on a wonderful red dress and when she arrives everybody turns around to look at her. A handsome man asks her to dance. At the end, he takes her to hell. Young readers may enjoy reading if the material chosen reflects the interests and problems they might have. “Dancing with the Devil” may be appealing to adolescents since it might make them feel identified with its character and her behaviour towards seeking their own personal identity when thinking about their actions and feelings. With this in mind, it might be said that the urban legend “Dancing with the devil” can be a useful tool for debating in classrooms due to the fact that it reflects how adolescents disobey their parents and what consequences they may suffer. To start discussing about teenager’s misbehaviour, one of the most important points is that it has a scientific explanation. David Elkind (cited in Jeanie Lerche Davis, 2003) explains that during the teenage years, the area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex is developing. This is the part of the brain that is behind the forehead. As a child evolves into a teenager, the brain becomes able to synthesize information into ideas. People may


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“Risky behavior, Bad rewards”: Debating Teenage Rebellion in an Urban Legend by Simud - Issuu