The book of Confessions revolves around the autobiography of St. The book is told through chronological order, so the first book mostly talks about Augustine's life as a child. .
In the beginning, Augustine starts with a prayer and praise for God but after that Augustine openly questions and is skeptical of God's attributes and his ways of communicating. Augustine is rhetorical and relentless in discussing about God. He senses that God is elusive and hard to get a hold of and appears to be aggravated by it. The first question Augustine raises is how one can seek God without knowing what he is. "For it would seem clear that no one can call upon Thee without knowing Thee," (pg 3) Having already implied that God is not the ultimate divine figure, he concludes with inquiry saying "who are you then, my God?" (pg 4) Stemming from this skepticism towards God, Augustine appears to be inclined to commit sinful acts with his friends. .
Augustine's childhood is immediately followed after these passages and it begins with his earliest infancy and leads up to his adolescence. Augustine believes his adolescent years were "most sinful" (pg 23) in his life. He had his first sexual escapade during this time, in addition to stealing pears from his neighbor's orchard with his friends. Augustine clearly shows irresistibility to peer pressure. As he considers the context of stealing pears, Augustine concludes that he did it out of no motive other than desire to do wrong and that it was just a teenage prank. "The pears were not stolen for their beauty, their taste, or their nourishment but out of sheer mischief." (pg 30).
With each sinful act committed, Augustine seems to draw closer understanding with God. For example, Augustine steals those pears with his friends knowing God would disapprove; yet he learns a lesson out of it. That is, peer pressure and "friendship can be a dangerous enemy, a seduction of the mind.