Field observation essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Field observation - Essay Example The protagonist in the narrative presents the reader with a view of American teenage life that is both touching, but also alarming in its suggestion that teenagers feel alienated and insecure throughout their high school years. These feelings are perhaps amplified when the teenager is even more â€Å"different† than usual – from another culture, or identified as something other than mainstream, white, upper class American. Being an outsider, and always striving for acceptance but never finding it, is something which every American teenager may experience. But the personal experience of the narrator of the novel, and its resonances in the personal life of this writer from the basis of this essay. The First Person writing style stems from this exploration of personal opinions and reactions to the novel, â€Å"Prep†. The first and perhaps most predictable point of identification I had with the novel â€Å"Prep† is with the character, Sin-Jun. Sin-Jun is described as being from Korea, and the narrator comments that, â€Å"Like me, Sin-Jun had no friends.† (Sittenfeld, p.10) Superficially, since my background is also Korean – I have lived in the United States now for 6 years – this character is one with whom I should identify. I arrived in the United States when I was in Junior High, and graduated high school here. The difficulties I experienced when I first arrived could be paralleled by some of the experiences Sin-Jun is described as having. Perhaps the description of the squid Sin-Jun keeps in her locker, and her roommates’ reaction to its smell, as well as Sun-Jin’s sexual preferences are too radically removed from my personal experience to allow close comparisons but in one area I am able to identify with her strongly. Language is certainly one of the primary difficulties when you are trying to adapt to a new school. If your language is absolutely not understood by anyone