Kids will be kids. (Unknown) That is the theme of the story An Ounce of
Cure, by Alice Munro.
This story starts out with the narrator and her boyfriend
breaking-up. She is very sad. Soon after, she baby-sits for the Berrymans. While
there, she drinks some of their liquor.
After a few drinks, she begins to throw-up.She calls Joyce, her best friend, to come over and help her. When Joyce arrives,
she brought with her some other people that had been with her. Soon, Mr.Berryman came home and caught the narrator drunk, and alone with a bunch of
boys. Mr.
Berryman took her home so she could explain to her parents what she
had done. The story, An Ounce of Cure, relates to common teenage experiences.The girl in the story goes through experiences as everyone else. The first
example is when the narrator says He took me out…and kissed me. I did not wash
my face that night or the next morning.
(p. 474) Most teens will be swept away
by their first kiss. But soon after, the relationship will end, as it does in this story
when the narrator says, Two months later, he dumped me. (p.475) After being
dumped, a teenager will think about their love, day and night. An example is when
the girl said, I spent ten hours at time thinking about Martain Collingsworth.
(p.475) The quote I would torture myself with the exact recollection of Martin
kissing my throat, (p. 475) shows the depression and longing that she went
through. When someone is sulking, its hard to convince them that they are better
off now. An example would be when the narrators mother tells her that Martin
has enough conceit to sink a battle ship. (p.
475) Her mothers comment just
makes the girl more depressed. When the girl went to baby-sit, she thought, like
most teens do, that drinking would help her feel better. I stood looking at my
face, half expecting it to be altered. (p. 477) When she felt the same she took
another drink, until she was throwing up.
Most teens rely on there friends, which
we see when the narrator calls Joyce, an asks her to come over. Even though the
narrator tries to cover it up, she is caught. Just like most teenagers are when they
do something wrong. And whenever someone is caught, they get in trouble. Mr.
Berryman told her to Go in and tell your parents the straight truth. (p. 479) That
is how this story relates to the common teenage life.In conclusion, everyone goes through the same thing as an adolescent.
Everyone will go through the same situations and emotions. I thought this was a
very good story. I think that all teenagers should read it, so they know that other
people are going through the same thing as they are. Id like to end with a quote I
found in the story that the girl said when she found out Martin was taking a liking
to her again.
It shows that no matter how bad a situation seems at the time, a
person will get over it. I am a grown-up woman now; let him unbury his own
catastrophes. (p. 481)
