The Summer I was Sixteen

In “The Summer I was Sixteen,” Geraldine Connolly creates a nostalgic tone by explaining her summer as a teenager in great detail using imagery that presents her past in both a joyful and judgmental way. Connolly uses imagery such as the “turquoise pool” and the “mirage of bubbles” to create a feeling for the reader of the freedom and fun of summer vacation. However, she also uses imagery to describe the naive child she was at the time. By saying that she “did not exist beyond the gaze of a boy” and comparing the cotton candy to the “sweet furtive kisses” she is showing that being a teenager is not all about fun. She later explains that they were “tossing a glance through the chain link at an improbable world.” She uses these examples of teenage drama and confusion to show that even though it was a simple time, she is only somewhat nostalgic, as she sees that she has come far from that naive stage of her life. By using the imagery of both fun times and times of drama and confusion, Geraldine Connolly brings the typical teenage summer in a way that makes the reader feel both nostalgic, but also glad they have grown up and are no longer curios or focused on boys and what their future may hold.