My Darling, My Hamburger Many learning experiences about friendships, parents, advice, and serious relationships can be observed in the novel My Darling, My Hamburger, by Paul Zindel. An important lesson that runs throughout the entire book is that a relationship or friendship does not truly exist without mutual respect. A good example of this is the rapport between Maggie and Liz; simpleton Maggie thinks Liz is her best friend, but that is not exactly true since Liz does not treat her as an equal. When Liz ardently called Maggie up to tell her to break her date with Denis because she got in a fight with Sean, that gave me the impression that Maggie was beneath Liz, like a little sister who she could boss around. Liz oppresses her decisions and opinions upon Maggie because she can be easily taken advantage of, and Maggie is willing takes it all in because she respects Liz's choices and thinks they have some higher purpose and importance. Another example is the relationship between Maggie and Denis, yet theirs does theoretically exist. They both notice the flaws in one another (Maggie's unnaturally small ears and Denis's passé baggy sweatshirt to name a few) but they don't treat each other indifferently. They treat each other with mutual self-respect, a characteristic that would have allowed their relationship to prosper if Liz hadn't interfered. Respect is a very important characteristic to any relationship of any kind, and this book stresses it. Another lesson learned is that parental advice greatly shapes the choices children make. The relationship between Liz and her mom is a good example. Liz's mom tries to be the ideal housewife, and never has or tries to take the time to seriously give Liz advice and understand her. Without her moral guidance, Liz makes many unfortunate choices such as getting pregnant, having an abortion, and not graduating from high school; with her mom's and possibly her step dad's guidance, things might have turned out differently. Another example is the strong bond between Mrs. Tobin, Maggie's mom, and Maggie. She understands that her daughter is a teenager, and gives her good advice about her relationship with Denis; " A boy does not have to look like a prince to make a good husband." With Mrs. Tobin's counsel, Maggie is later more auspicious in life than Liz and makes better choices. Children are very susceptible to advice their parents their parents give them, and their choices reflect upon it. Many of the characters in My Darling, My Hamburger have little idiosyncrasies and mentalities that make up a wide portion of their personalities, and makes them liable for...
