The problem of the Generation Gap

The problem of the Generation Gap

John Priestly in his novel “Angel Pavement” touches on a number of the problems such as social protest, unemployment, loneliness, problems of the youth and an eternal problem of the generation gap.

The Smiths family can serve a good example of the family where misunderstanding between two generations arises.

Mr. Smith was seriously concerned about the life of his daughter Edna. He was “not happy with her way of looking, acting and talking”. And he was really upset about the fact that Edna didn’t want to think about her future. There was “too much going out and amusing herself”. Mr. Smith wanted his daughter “to amuse herself and learn something about the world at the same time”.

Mr. Smith worried as well about his son George’s future and reputation. He was afraid that his son could be mixed up in “anything dishonest”. Mr. Smith was shocked when he found out that George was involved in the car-stealing business and George himself “talked about buying stolen cars as if it was simply a silly hobby. He didn’t seem to be in the least shocked or frightened”. Mr. Smith couldn’t believe that his son was an adult man with his own view of life and his own values. George “seemed to live in a world in which bad names didn’t count, a world his father didn’t know”, and Mr. Smith had a feeling that “he had brought up a boy who had suddenly turned into an Indian”.

Mr. Smith and George belonged to different generations. George’s point of view appeared to be whole worlds away from anything his father could understand”. They lived in two different worlds, and they couldn’t understand each other because of difference of social values.

The problem of the generation gap has always existed and will exist in our life. And it will always remain one of the eternal problems of mankind.