Running the Gauntlet

A gauntlet is, as defined by Dictionary.com,” an attack on two or all sides”. But what significance is this phrase? It certainly brings to mind singularly unpleasant overtones of torture and punishment, of men with cruel weapons and crueler intentions. It is my argument here that the modern male child has to run such a gauntlet, assaulted on all sides during adolescence, mocked by peers, misunderstood by parents, and most of all, betrayed by himself.

Middle school is a trying time for everyone. The pre-teens, both male and female, do lots of deucedly unkind things. There is belief, however, that modern schooling has altered the way adolescent males establish superiority. Instead of a system of simple physical violence and schoolyard pranks it has evolved into an infinitely more complicated system of cutting mockery, tattling, loud empty threats of violence, and the quiet meaningful threats that scare the hell out of everyone. Denied their physical outlet for establishing peer hierarchies, male adolescents resort to verbal and mental abuse which resulted in mental health problems and trouble socializing later on in life (Volk 1).

It is a problem that has been around since the first child first asked why he can’t go out to the movies even if it is a Thursday night and they haven’t done their schoolwork (but it’s alright because they’ll do it when they get back, as long as they can stay out past eleven). Parents just don’t think the same way that children do, and are usually unable or unwilling to empathize with the average adolescent, male or female. Without a proper support system at home that’s capable and equipped to assist the budding adolescent with all of his problems, the child is mostly left out on his own. Sometimes the child is openly rebellious during this period, leading to a second front that only makes life at school harder. Statistics show that male criminal behavior begins at thirteen and peaks at about seventeen. (Human 1)

Puberty is one of the primary reasons for all the previous problems; our proverbial root of all evil is, in the end, ourselves. Puberty is the period of biological changes that children go through as they move toward adulthood. Changes usually occur earlier in girls rather than boys, and in boys it involves the growing of body hair, development of sexual organs, deepening of the voice, increase in muscle mass, and a variety of other things. (Puberty 1)

Poor Bobbie Dunn in “Personal Testimony”, a short story by Lynna Williams, is a good example of an adolescent male stuck in an unfortunate position, with his case of “Jesus-Jaw”, where a fervent speaker starts babbling nonsensically. He gets past this terrible malady by linking