Youth Culture In Joseph Ippstein's The Perpetual Adolescent By Joseph Epstein

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The Perpetual Adolescent In the article The Perpetual Adolescent, Joseph Epstein discusses the development in the youth culture in the United States. Epstein takes the reader into a historical analysis of how the youth culture has developed over the years in the nation. The article provides numerous examples to support the ideas and arguments raised. For example, the idea behind college instructors wearing T-shirts and jeans while going about their official school duties, instead of official attire, is to relate better with the students. Music, sports, and film art are elements that played a huge role in the development of the youth culture in the US. A look at the current era reveals that indeed the youth culture has taken over all aspects …show more content…

In support of this discussion, the author provides historical information that contributed towards the current youth culture that spreads across all age groups. For example, Epstein states that President John F. Kennedy and his government has a major role to play in the development of the youth culture. The administration paid increased emphasis on youthfulness, as Kennedy was the first president who did not wear a serious hat (Epstein). The author goes ahead to provide other elements that followed and their impact on the growth of the youth culture. For example, the Yeats Byzantium, a group comprised of student radicals believed in the ideal that there was no nation for old men or women (Epstein). Such thoughts, according to Epstein played a major role in the slow change in the public perception about the youth. The specific examples help the reader understand better the process towards the embracement of the youth culture in the …show more content…

The use of this approach also has a great impact in the delivery of the ideas and arguments in the essay. He goes ahead to make statements that prove for a doubt that he believes in the development and the existence of the youth culture in the US. The example on Warren Buffet, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and Sol Linowitz amongst others as the adults left in the American society depicts the author’s thoughts on the ideal adult. Warren Buffet, for example, is 87 years old, and due to his age, he cannot thrive in the youthful culture. The other examples provided comprise of individuals who are above the age of 70, and hence do not have the ability to adopt the youthful lifestyle, even if they