This Is Our Youth

The buzzer rings, and Dennis worries that Warren’s father is there to kill him. It turns out to be Jessica. Moments after she enters, Dennis leaves with Warren’s collection. When Jessica comes in, Warren starts making jokes, but Jessica isn’t in a light mood. She admits that she doesn’t want to see Warren and that her mother was angry at her for being out all night. She intends to spend the week at home making up for it, and Warren takes it to mean that she doesn’t want to see him anymore.

Jessica turns to leave, and but stops and asks Warren if he told Dennis that they slept together. Warren lies and says he didn’t at first but then admits that he did. Jessica feels like she went against her own morals and instincts by sleeping with Warren, and thinks her reputation is going to be ruined. Warren tries to tell Jessica that he wasn’t just using her and proves it by giving her his grandfather’s baseball cap. Jessica refuses to take it at first, but then when she does, she can tell Warren is upset to lose it. She puts it down and leaves.

When Warren is alone, he sits down and starts mixing the cocaine and Mannitol. The phone rings, and he accidentally knocks the plate on the floor, losing almost all of it. He stares at it and laughs at first and then picks up the phone to find his father on the other line. Warren’s father knows he took the money and demands it back, and Warren tells him he’ll have to wait a little while. Only Warren’s dialogue can be heard, but it is implied that his father worries that Warren will end up like his sister. Warren assures him that won’t be the case. He ends the call by saying: “I hate you too” (112).

Dennis comes back and is clearly upset, and seeing the cocaine on the floor is the least of his problems. He tells Warren that his friend Stuey (who was going to sell him some cocaine) died of an overdose during the night. Stuey’s death has Dennis reeling and considering his choices, as he considers how young Stuey was and how quickly he just vanished from existence. Dennis admits he sold Warren’s whole collection for only $900, which angers and upsets Warren.

Dennis lies down and launches into a monologue about how Stuey’s life was so temporary, and how the thought of death as a permanent state of non-existence has him totally terrified. He feels like he’s wasting his life using drugs and sitting in an apartment and wants to do something grand like becoming a director or famous chef. Dennis talks about how his father is getting more and more ill, and his mother reacts to the situation with impatience and callousness. She also insults his career as an artist, accusing his life of having no meaning. Thinking about all of this scares Dennis, and he blames Warren for starting all this emotional trouble. Dennis thinks ahead to his own funeral and hopes there will be countless people there.

Warren is clearly still upset about how little Dennis got for his collection, and he tells him so. He adds that Dennis always condescends to and insults him. Dennis defends his behavior by saying that it’s just the way he is, and Warren wonders if Dennis is truly on his side. Warren tells Dennis he’s his hero, but that he doubts how Dennis feels about him in return. Dennis break down in tears, and Warren sees it as a good time to drop the topic. 

Dennis lights a joint and returns to his monologue. He comments again on the fleeting state of life, and Warren remarks on how his father worked hard for a perfect life, but that being rich didn’t protect his children in the end. The play ends as Warren finally agrees that Dennis is on his side, which cheers up Dennis. They sit together as Warren thinks about how he is going to deal with his father.