Response Essay

A Response to “ Anarchy in the Tenth Grade” Overall, I found the argument presented in “ Anarchy in the Tenth Grade” interesting and informative. Author Greg Graffin presents a clear thesis and supports it well with logical examples and sound reasoning. However, I also found parts of the essay confusing which makes me wonder about the intended audience of the piece. “ Anarchy in the Tenth Grade” examines how people can relate to being alienated from certain groups, and how the author found his sense of self. Graffin supports this idea, pointing out that he feels a kinship with everyone who shares any alienated trait. He believes that even though people have never heard of nor met each other, alienation links them in their challenge to institutions and to dogmatic thinking. Graffin found his sense of self through music, but not through the same bands as his peers. While everyone else was listening to Led Zepplin, Rush, and Kiss, he was listening to “ Rodney on the Roq” who played local bands’ music that shared their alienation and confusion. Generally, I found Graffin’s argument convincing. First, he offers several examples to support his thesis by reflecting back on his own life. For example, he explains in the reading how he grew up “punk”, and the he did not quite fit in. He tells us that there were only three punkers in his school, “And all of us got our asses kicked because of our musical prefence.” This scared him, but at the same time it made him feel powerful. He goes on saying that growing up this way affected him. He had to unlearn these bad traits just to have a normal, loving relationship. Graffin’s sense of not being the same as others penetrated deeper than what he observed in the world around him. Even, his hair, was wrong, too fluffy to conform to standard rock hairdo. His opposition to his adolescent environment was forced , and even included the clothing of his peers. Unlike the wealthier students , he had to wear Payless Shoes and velour

Cited: Graffin, Greg. “Anarchy in the Tenth Grade.” The Conscious Reader. Brief Ed. Eds Carolina Schrodes ET. AL. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008