In our competitive society, we will meet a lot of challenges at any
time. And there may be some pressures coming with these challenges,
such as the pressure of studying or friendship. Or maybe we will meet
someone attractive and then fall in love with him or her quickly. On
the route of love, there will be many submerged reefs under the sea to
stop you.
In the movie 「Splendor in the grass,」 Deanie bore several kinds
of pressure. In the beginning of the movie, Deanie kissed and caressed
with Bud in the car and they both enjoyed this behavior. When Bud
wanted to be more intimate, Deanie said 「No, No.」 Although she had a
desire to continue, she felt guilty. And if she let Bud move on, she
would lose her virginity and she wouldn』t be perfect. Therefore, she
refused Bud』s needs but felt a little depressed. In another scene in
the movie, her mother asked her when she came home if she had done 「that
thing」 with Bud. She answered her mother impatiently. After her mother
left the room, she leaned on the bed and felt a little excited. That
also implied that she was curious about sex. But under her parent』s
pressure, she couldn』t do anything to satisfy her curiosity. Because of
social tradition, she forced herself to follow the social convention.
In relation to sexuality, it seems that women received more pressure
than men. When Bud accepted his father』s suggestion and avoided seeing
Deanie, Deanie became sad and out of control in class. In the meantime,
Bud lived an ordinary life as before. He still studied, joined his
club』s game and attracted other girls. His indifference and
carelessness left Deanie completely heartbroken. But his indifference
also inspired an idea in Deanie』s mind. She thought her refusal had
resulted in Bud』s leaving her. So she wanted to give him her virginity
at a party. Instead of taking it, Bud chose to refuse. At that time,
he also expressed a scornful attitude toward Deanie for he thought of
how his sister, who disobeyed every social rule in relation to
sexuality, was looked down upon by other people. And Deanie suffered
from his sense of frustration and disgust when she also behaved as his
sister did.
All of the pressures on Deanie forced her into hysteria. She borne lots
of the pressure in the story and couldn』t find a balance between them.
During that period of time, everyone was following social traditions and
repressed their true needs or feelings. If the repression lasted a
long time, all of the pressures would break out which would lead to a
terrible problem, such as Deanie』s. Every epoch has its own pressure,
it depends on how we control and overcome it. When we meet some
pressure, we should never avoid it. Avoidance will only make you fall
into the unbearable situation like Deanie』s. Everyone should try to
release his or her pressure in some ways, such as going to a remote
place to shout or to cry or do something you like. Maybe just go to the
movies and share your true feelings with your friends. To be a modern
and wise person, there are a lot of ways to overcome the pressure. We
should avoid giving in to pressure, like Deanie, the girl in 「Splendor
in the grass.」