Beauty School Drop-Out

Teenagers are perhaps the most observed and criticized group of people ever. They are given new problems almost daily and are scrutinized if they fail any of them. Despite all the hard work required in successfully being a teenager, they are not given the credit they deserve because of the constant observation they receive. The song “Beauty School Drop-Out” from Grease references these students and jokes about the harsh lives of teenagers. The song begins by establishing a negative connotation of teenagers with “Your story's sad to tell, a teenage ne'er-do-well” (1). By including this the song’s motif is clear from the beginning, teenagers try their best, but what they desire is not what they really need in life. This motif is further developed through the use of “why keep your feeble hopes alive” because it implies the uselessness of what you, a teenager, hopes to do in life (10). Alongside this, the

Like all people, teenagers fail. They may do so more often than others, but they are learning the ropes of becoming an adult, and this is evident. The oxymoron of “flunked shampoo” gives the feeling of this failure but maintains a separation from all teenagers (6). However, the underlying symbol of the line provides a reasoning for all teenagers and is emphasized more through the anaphora of “Beauty school drop-out, go back to highschool” (27-29). Similar to the oxymoron, the repetition of the line highlights the early failures of all teenagers. Working alongside the anaphora, the line is also an epithet, characterizing teenagers as those who fail to finish what they start, and end up as failures. This is similar to the thousands of hopeful high schoolers hoping to become rich making YouTube videos and other content but are unaware of the true difficulties of the real world. The girl referenced in this particular song is synonymous with these people as she attempted something different and