Young kids today are subject to much greater peer pressure than they were
This play titled "FUN", by Howard Korder, was written in 1987, and takes place in an
industrial town where there seems not be a lot to do to occupy young teenagers.
As you can tell from the first line and the language used, Denny does not seem too
terribly happy. I think this line suggests boredom, lack of manners and a general
lack of respect for anyone, even for friends. As we go through and discuss the
play, think about and ask yourselves what choices you have in your life right
now, and how those could lead to your life goals, or not lead to your life goals.
In scene one, you can determine right away that Denny is not a good influence
on Casper. Of the two, Denny seems to be the leader and Casper the follower.
Denny doesn't think twice about skipping school or his parents wondering
where he is, but you get the sense of a little resistance or reluctance on Casper's
part to go along with the idea of skipping school or leaving when his mother
is not home. So, we can establish that Casper has the greater conscience.
In scene two, Casper and Denny are underneath a bridge and are finding a lot
of trash. One car happens to throw something out of the window, and they scream
at the car to pick up their trash. First of all, their language is awful, and in the
adult world, probably wouldn't gain them a lot of respect. Notice how they
talk about "their cars have air conditioning", and "they have cruise control and
they have dinner waiting on the table". Sounds like both boys are a little jealous.
Now we can get a little more glimpse into their home life. We can assume that
both boys' families are probably pretty poor, and also that maybe their families
don't really seem to care about them very much.
In scene three and four, Caspe...