Meske 1

Shannon E. Meske
Professor Lawson
ENGL115
September 8th, 2014
Exercise One: Summary of a Text Revised
Word Count: 348
Exercise 1: Summary of a text
The article, Coming of age at the prom: Adolescent and popular behavior, by Amy L.
Best, discusses the ritualistic nature of prom and the extreme importance placed on it by
teenagers. Best writes about the appeal of prom and how many teenagers feel as though they
must go to prom, or else they will miss out on a rite of passage. Best continues by stating an
analysis of how society places an enormous amount of pressure on students to attend prom. Best
stated that Constructing the prom as an important cultural rite works to ensure that students will
go to the prom. Subtle social controls are at work here in shaping how kids come to think of the
prom and, subsequently, of themselves. (Best 195). The author, then goes on to explain how
although students place pressures upon themselves to have the perfect prom night, adults, too,
may feel this overwhelming compulsion to urge their teens to attend their prom, as it is a
capsule of youthful innocence and hope (Best 197).
The common theme presented in the article, is that a teenagers view of prom is
determined by the pop culture around them. Since magazines and movies perpetuate the idea that
prom is not only a part of growing up, but an event that changes you socially as a person, the
idea of prom has been highly idealized. Now that the pressure for the perfect prom has been
floating around in the minds of adolescents for decades, the struggle to obtain that ideal is more

Meske 2

and more difficult, and can subsequently take negative effects on the minds of our youth.
Although in hindsight, the idea of a school-wide event that brings students of all social
backgrounds together, would be a good thing, the prom propaganda has skewed this seemingly
innocent event, into a stress-inducing, and money draining fiasco. However, prom, in a sense, is
part of human nature. Teenagers love to dance, look their best, and maybe for one night, change
who they are. It is unlikely that we will see the doing-away of prom anytime soon.