Buck's uses the term "stream of life " to portray her view of society today as getting started after adolescents and that youths in today's society feel left out and can therefore not relate to the various situations or lifestyles that adults deal with every day. Personally I believe that it is very difficult for adolescents to understand or relate to the different situations in which adults are faced with. That is why I feel that adolescents are left out of today's "stream of life" to a certain degree.
Stream of life, the way Buck views it, is the functioning of a society and the way that society runs smoothly. Buck does not believe in adolescence, but rather that youths should become part of society or better citizens at an earlier age. "If I were mayor of a town, I would see to it that even first graders know that they are citizens, and that, as citizens they have duties."(p.397, Buck). Is that true though? Should a 6 or a 7 year old be taught about the duties of society at such a young age? Some may disagree, making the arguments that there are better pieces of information to teach them such as academics, friendship, honesty, violence control and helping others. Buck along with many others would believe that society is based around such key points and to teach them about the duties and roles they should play in society will help them better relate to adults. For example in the essay, had her neighbors son been better educated about what role he should play in society and his duties, he might have been able to fit into the "stream of life", communicate better with his parents, understand what his parents are doing, and not feel left out and bored. .
In the story her neighbor's son is obviously a troubled adolescent. The quotation "Or, I suggested you haven't found what you really want to do and you don't know where to look."(p.396, Buck) is one sign that Buck feels that he is out of communication with the so-called real world.
