It started off with a girl telling her mom that she doesn’t want to wear long skirt. That girl ended up dead from a failed abortion operation.
A teenage boy trying to teach his troubled friend about sex education. The life of the boy is ruined after being expelled from school and sent to reformatory.
A teenage boy struggling hard to stay in school. The boy committed suicide after being expelled and lost hope in life.
This play contained many taboo subjects. All of which led to tragedies to occur.
If only the teenagers going through puberty is more well-informed about their sexuality, they would not be as confused and lost. If Wendla Bergmann understood how babies were made, she could be more cautious around boys and use contraceptives. Then she would not have died a tragic death at such a young age. If Moritz Stiefel understood more about puberty and why he is having all the sexual thoughts, he would not be distracted from school and failed school. Then he would not have been so lost and hopeless that he decides to end his life. If Melchior Gabor didn’t have to help inform his friend about sexual education through self-drawn “pornography”, he would not be a scapegoat for his friend’s death. Then he might not have ended up in the reformatory and the eventual escape.
Parents feel the need to shelter their children, but sometimes it’s this protection that’s hurting their children the most. There’s a Chinese saying that this young generation, those born after 1981, is the generation of strawberries (草莓族). Strawberries looks bright but is actually really easily bruised and fragile. The younger generation often cave under stress and can’t endure hardship. This occurs because this generation is so well-sheltered by their “loving” parents. Parents should just allow their children to be more exposed in order to learn and develop more, especially dealing with their own body.,
So many tragedies would not have occurred if only the teenagers understood their body, puberty and hormones. Which reminds me the first time I had my sex education. It was back in fifth grade and my school even invited a speaker to come in to answer all our questions. At the young age of eleven or twelve, we are already expose to what is going to occur to our body and why it happens. Furthermore it is later emphasized in our biology class and health class. These lessons helped us be more comfortable with our body and understand the awakening of spring.
Your reference to a generation of strawberries is so interesting. The lesson that comes from this concept cannot be more true. We truly live in a society where children are over-nutured, and therefore are not ready to deal with the adversities of everyday life. At the same time though, parents and guardians must find the accurate balance between nurture and freedom. If one gives a child too much independence, then that child can end up off much worse without any guidance. This balance is a topic that has bothered mankind for much time, and continues to do so.
This play definitely emphasized the theme of overprotective parents that try to keep their children “innocent”. I agree that children need to be informed about their bodies as well as about sex before it is too late. I do not see any harm in educating, but rather in sheltering. Eventually, as we become adults, we learn about sex anyway, therefore there is no point in hiding vital information from teenagers. I do not think that just because children are more aware of how things work, that they are more prone to doing those things. Parents do not have to let their children do whatever they please just because they educate their children about “adult subjects”.