Typical Jock In John Steinbeck's The Breakfast Club
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On The Breakfast Club, Andrew is labeled as your typical jock. Strolling in with
his letterman’s jacket in full view, he gives off the athlete vibe. During the movie we
find out that Andy not only looks like a typical jock, but acts like one. Being a part of
the wrestling team made Andy have a technique of neutralization; he appealed to higher
loyalties. His first thought was not to impress the “Allisons” or the “Brians”, but his main
concern was to appease his other jock friends. And his father. Very true!
Andrew wanted to be the apple of his father’s eye and wanted to hear, just, once,
his father utter the words, “I’m proud of you son!” His father, however, did not work that
way. He was the hard dad that always expected more than the child could give. But that…show more content… He was determined to get that approval and would go so far as to hurt
an innocent bare-bottomed lightweight to show that he was, in fact, “tough”. When that
show of strength didn’t work on his father and only landed him in an eight-hour Saturday
school, he decided to vent to his new found friends. He explained how terribly he felt
about hurting someone who had done absolutely nothing. He couldn’t believe his desire
to please his father had actually come down to that. Taping up that locker-room
bystander was his way of deviating from the normal in order to obtain his goal of
pleasing his father. This example would be considered innovation: accepting a goal, but
using illegitimate terms to get the goal. Absolutely correct.
Although Andy did some pretty terrible things, the fact that he feels some
serious remorse and is willing to share that remorse with a few fellow Saturday morning
“imbeciles”, shows that he is deviating from the differential association of bottling up
his feelings. Around his group of friends he would have never admitted feeling badly for
injuring one of his peers. But when he is around people that welcome his honest