Adulthood: Greenman Vs. Greenman Essay, Research Paper

Greenman vs. Greenman

Spending time looking at the testimonies of all parties and my own opinions I have decided to

change my decision about Rosie Greenman. She is not an adult and should not be allowed to marry, a right

of an adult. There were many things that brought me to change my opinion.

Firstly, I looked at the meaning of “Adult” for me. When does a person become an adult? This

point is crossed when an individual is no longer being solely supported by a parent or guardian (when this

individual can be self-supporting), along with the maturity to make sound decisions for their future. Some

argue that child actors may be seen as adults because of the income that they provide for their families.

This is not true. If in fact the child actors provided the money, decided the ways in which it was used and

these “ways” were not negatively effecting their futures, then why should they be denied the title adult.

Rosie is like that child actor in many ways. She works, providing for her family. Indeed, this is an

adult action. She sees a need in her family, money, and takes it upon herself to provide it. She takes care of

her mother and grandmother with the money she earns. This is a sign of adulthood. By look at these

accounts alone, one would consider Rosie a full-fledged adult, yet that is not all to look at. Let’s examine

her choice of man to marry, Eddie, with whom she plans to move out west with to work on his uncle’s

farm.

Eddie is plainly irresponsible. He can’t keep a steady job or income, implying in his testimony that

he doesn’t care about the jobs. He once quit a job because he “thought” that they might fire him. Though he

said that he hated the job, feeling incompetent and claustrophobic, the job provided him with income to

keep him alive. Though Rosie works now and could support both her and Eddie if needed, she plans to be a

housewife leaving the job of providing income to Eddie. Rosie all but confessed to Eddie having a drinking

problem that he expresses in times of stress or when he has no job. He says that he will stop drinking when

he and Rosie get married, but why not now? He can’t support himself and isn’t committed to anything, yet

Rosie wants to spend the rest of her life with him. She has provided care for her mother and grandmother

since she will be away, but is not taking care of her own well-being.

Rosie is not showing good judgement with this endeavor. I see her as a child, needing to grow up

and learn decision-making wisdom. I feel that this court should not allow Rosie Greenman adulthood,

because she will throw her life away with her ill-thought, immature decisions.