Most of All You've Got to Hide it from the Kids: The Coming of Age Tale of “The Graduate”

Young adults refusing to conform to the idealistic standards of society is a constant theme portrayed throughout history. Consequently, many young adults believed that the older adults of their generation simply did not understand them—or their lifestyle choices. Throughout the 1960s, following the conservative mindset of 1950s America, many American teenagers sought to cut away the apron strings of their parents conservatism, taking part in the rebellious lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock and roll.
The film, “The Graduate,” produced in 1967, typifies the struggle of a young man, Ben Braddock, who is attempting to find his place in the world, while at the same time, portraying his rebellion from his parents as he engages in a marital affair with an older woman, Mrs. Robinson. The plot of the film is incredibly twisted, not only because Mrs. Robinson is the wife of Ben’s father’s business partner, but is also a long-time friend of the family.
It is evident that Ben’s family is suffocating him with their values in the first scene of the film in which Ben is gazing into a fish tank in his room, not wanting to attend his college graduation party.
Mr. Braddock: What's the matter? The guests are all downstairs, Ben, waiting to see you.
Benjamin: Look, Dad, could you explain to them that I have to be alone for a while?
Mr. Braddock: These are all our good friends, Ben. Most of them have known you since, well, practically since you were born. What is it, Ben?
Benjamin: I'm just...
Mr. Braddock: Worried?
Benjamin: Well...
Mr. Braddock: About what?
Benjamin: I guess about my future.
Mr. Braddock: What about it?
Benjamin: I don't know... I want it to be...
Mr. Braddock: To be what?
Benjamin: [looks at his father] ... Different.

Throughout the film, Ben struggles to find himself—a recent graduate, he is unsure what he wants to do with his life. Mrs. Robinson’s initial attraction toward Ben first appears at his graduation party, an ironic twist because her own daughter, Elaine Robinson, is merely a college student as well. Upon coercing Ben to take her home and then proceeding to seduce him, it is obvious that Ben is incredibly uncomfortable.
Ben: Oh my god.
Mrs. Robinson: Pardon?
Ben: Oh no, Mrs. Robinson. Oh no.
Mrs. Robinson: What's wrong?
Ben: Mrs. Robinson, you didn't... I mean, you didn't expect...
Mrs. Robinson: What?
Ben: I mean, you didn't really think I'd do something like that.
Mrs. Robinson: Like what?
Ben: What do you think?
Mrs. Robinson: Well, I don't know.
Ben: For god's sake, Mrs. Robinson. Here we are. You got me into your house. You give me a drink. You... put on music. Now you start opening up your personal life to me and tell me your husband won't be home for hours.
Mrs. Robinson: So?
Ben: Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me.
Although at first, Ben may have been uncomfortable with Mrs. Robinson’s aggressive sexual behavior, he soon warmed up to the attention and the two began their affair—further coercing Ben to become more emotionally involved in the relationship than Mrs. Robinson. He wants the pair to talk rather than simply having sexual intercourse;
however, Mrs. Robinson quickly opposes, wanting to keep their relationship merely sexual.
Ben’s situation becomes more complicated when his parents begin questioning his late-night whereabouts, along with his plans for the future—thus proving that Ben is merely drifting along in his life, without any concrete plan.
Mr. Braddock: Ben, what are you doing?
Ben: Well, I would say that I'm just drifting. Here in the pool.
Mr. Braddock: Why?
Ben: Well, it's very comfortable just to drift here.
Mr. Braddock: Have you thought about graduate school?
Ben: No.
Mr. Braddock: Would you mind telling me then what those four years of college were for? What was the point of all that hard work?
Ben: You got me.
Furthermore, his relationship with Mrs. Robinson disintegrates when he begins to date—and fall in love with—her young, attractive daughter Elaine. Soon after, Mrs. Robinson threatens to tell her daughter of their relationship, forcing Ben to admit to their affair. The whirlwind of trauma that follows—Ben’s parents’ disgust, Mr. Robinson’s threats, Mrs. Robinson’s psychotic behavior and Elaine’s departure to college—only fuels Ben’s unrequited love for Elaine. He refuses to give up, and follows her to Berkeley.
The film’s plot continues to display parents’ forcing their children to conform to their morals and standards when, after Elaine falls in love with Ben, the Robinson’s force her to marry a medical student from Berkeley. Ben was completely heartbroken; however he rushed to the church, where he found Elaine kissing her new husband. Still not willing to give up on their love, he yells at Elaine through a glass panel, and she flees from the church, thus allowing the pair to start their relationship with one another—at the contempt of their families.
Mrs. Robinson: Elaine, it's too late.
Elaine: Not for me.

Although many critics argue that “The Graduate” promoted sexual promiscuity, and was too risqué for its time, I believe that the film was both eye-opening and revolutionary to the lives of young Americans. All too often, young adults make their life decisions based on their parents’ views—rather than regarding their own happiness and well-being. The internal conflict of Ben, which is seen throughout the film, epitomizes his struggle of finding himself following his graduation. He is unsure what he wants to do with his life, although his affluent family and friends try to impose unwanted advice. His affair with Mrs. Robinson further shows his confusion and although the affair could be deemed as sexually provocative to film critics, I believe that it was necessary to enhance viewers’ perception of Ben’s uncertainty in his life.
All in all, “The Graduate” portrayed the exact feelings—confusion, anger, mistrust—that many young adults living in 1960s America felt. It is practically impossible for young adults to grow up independently in a society in which the previous generation’s ideas are forced upon them. At the same time, this same concept compels many coming-of-age men and women to engage in outlandish behaviors, such as Ben’s affair with Mrs. Robinson. Without films like “The Graduate” young adults would possibly not be able to have the courage to make their own decisions about their lives. The film is a straight-forward portrayal of a reality in which young adults must make decisions about the lives—whether right or wrong—in order to ensure their happiness, without regard for the approval of their parents’ generation.

-Meaghan Cochrane