Discussion Questions For The Breakfast Club

On March 24, 1984, a Saturday, five kids gather for detention. They are John Bender, Claire Standish, Brian Johnson, Andy Clark, and Allison Reynolds. They are all from different cliques at school. Their disciplinary principal orders then to write an essay on who they are and why they are in detention. They are to remain quiet in the library. Instead of this they pass the time by getting to know one another. They do this by harnessing each other, fighting, dancing, smoking, and talking. They learn each other's secrets. Brain and Claire are ashamed of their virginity. Allison is a compulsive liar. Andy got in trouble because of his father. They learn that they all do not have the best relationships with their parents and do not wish to become

their parents. They are afraid of how they will treat one another after the detention. Claire and Bender like each other and she kisses him. Andy becomes interested in Allison. Brian writes the essay Mr. Vernon assigned, at Claire's request. This is the essay.
Dear Mr.

Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you're crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out, is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.
The kids leave detention and the movie ends with Bender at the football field with his hand raised triumphantly.
Bender is a criminal stereotype. He is at the formal operational stage. Bender is at the trust/mistrust stage at the beginning of the film. His absent parents in his life caused him to mistrust authority and go against what he is told. At the end he is more open to trust as he begins to trust the others, especially Claire. His parents are rejecting/neglecting him. They are shown as cold and punishing in the

movie.
Claire is an example of a princess stereotype or a popular person she is also a rich kid stereotype. She is at the formal operational stage. Her parents are on the verge of divorce and use her to get back at each other. They use Authoritarian Parenting. Their relationship with her is controlling and power assertive. She is at the initiative vs. guilt stage. She wants to have control over her life. She only does at school, because at home her parents tell her what to do. This causes her to rebel because she feels they are only using her to get back at one another.
Brian is the stereotype of a nerd.

He is at the formal operational stage. Brian's parents are overbearing and pressuring. They are authoritarian parents. The relationship is controlling. Brian is at the identity vs. role confusion stage at the beginning of the movie. He doesn't see himself as anything other than a Brain. This is because of the control his parents assert over his life. By the end of the movie he realizes that he is so much more.
Andy is the stereotype of a jock. He is at the formal operational stage. Andy's dad pushes him to be the best. He has to win and that's the only option. He is an authoritarian parent who is controlling. At the beginning of the movie Andy is at the identity vs. role confusion. He has no personal identity because of the control his dad has over his life. This leads to him losing control.
Allison is the stereotype of a misfit. She is at the formal operational stage. Alison's parents are rejecting-neglecting. They ignore her outright. At the beginning of the movie she is at the intimacy vs. isolation stage. She has no friends because she does not fit in and is a compulsive liar. By the end of the movie she has made

friends.
Detention forces the kids to interact. Spending the day together and sharing things about each other helps them to become close. They learn things about each other and this helps them to grow. They begin to learn that being friends with people that are different from themselves is okay and that they do not need to fulfill the expectations by their parents to make themselves feel good. They only have to fulfill their expectations. They develop their own moral principles and realize that these are higher than any conventional law, such as Mr. Vernon.