Riding with Society: Riding In the Cars with Boys

  The title of the biography is Riding in the Cars with Boys with the account of the life of Beverly

D’Onofrio. It was publicized by Penguin (Non-Classic) in August of 2000.

            Her life. Beverly D’Onofrio starts her life as being a sweet little girl with good grades, an officer father, dedicated mother and just an overall great life. In life many girls go through what’s called puberty which brings high hormones, misunderstood feelings and lots of confusion on the outlooks of life. In summer of 1968,with Bev being tweleve ,she finds her self doing anything in the world to get a glimpse of “they boy”. As time goes on and her hormones on boys rises uncontrollably to such a point where she’s skipping church to take “Feel up “ rides, showing nothing but skin, disrespecting authority and fall outs with those who feed her. One night taking one of her feel up rides, she decided to turn in her “V-Card” to her 30-second crush Raymond. Because it was her first time having sex she thought she couldn’t get pregnant her first time, condom or no condom.

            As many would guess, she’s now pregnant. At 19 years old, with no high school education. By 20, she has a child Jason with somewhat of a husband Raymond, in a living situation that doesn’t look too great. Bev and Raymond are having a difficult time being parents and unemployed, so they find the outlets of drugs, marijuana to be specific. As time progress, she noticed needle tracks on Raymond’s arm. That very next day he’s at the police station getting help for his heroine addiction. Now she’s a single mother with not too many options. In changing her life around she gets a full scholarship to an elite college in New England and money for taking care of Jason. Bev struggles with society with being the girl with baby in one hand and books in another. When all is said and done Bev graduates and finds herself send her 17 year old son to college, with looking over life with a tear drop and smile.

           

Quote: “I love you too,” he says. I resist the urge to look for him in the rearview. By the time I reach my first stop sign, I’m sobbing so hard I have to pull to the side of the road. It occurs to me that I never felt so alone in my life. I make a turn that points in the directions of Wallingford, and when I see the old river approaching I feel much calmer. I decide to spend the evening at my parents’, but once I reach the entrance to the interstate I’ve changed my mind. I turn south, and go home. (D’Onofrio 204)”

Reaction: This is the only time when Bev had a “misfortune” and didn’t blame anyone for it. This time she confronted whatever problem was in front her and moved forward. A special note is that when she moved forward it was within not with the false pretenses and uses of other people around her. This quote represents how she matured in such a way she can handle her life by herself, without blaming society and other people around her.  If anything this is the part in the story where the main theme came together in maturity and wisdom from within.