Reckless Behavior: A Junior Narrative Diptych by Sarah Weber (2011)

This diptych tells the story of a boy who has spent years slaving away over his school work, only to neglect his childhood. Just recently he has been waiting for a time when he can have the opportunity to be a teenager and do something reckless. Yet there is a part of him that wants to hold on to his innocence. As a result, he has built up a large amount of toilet paper which he hopes to someday use to TP a house. He just has to decide where and when. The point of no return shows the same boy, dressed, not in his slacks and white shirt, but in jeans and a baseball cap. He is lying face first on the hard ground covered in toilet paper. It is clear that the boy has chosen to act on his reckless dream, but he has fallen asleep on the job causing him to be caught red-handed. Sometimes you need to think of the consequences before you take an action.

My story is shown in two photos. The first photo depicts a boy in a white t-shirt studying. Books are all around him showing his values. However, there is a bunch of toilet paper sitting like a “skeleton in his closet”. In the same photo, the boy is seen sinking in a red chair. The second photo shows the boy in a red shirt to demonstrate his turn from good boy to bad. Instead of sinking in guilt he has hit rock bottom and is lying literally on rocks. The toliet paper, that was once sitting nicely stacked in his closet, is now draped explaining how the one event will now haunt him.