Allison Reynolds, the freak, the weirdo, the outcast, and the basketcase. She is in detention because she has nothing better to do and wanted to get the attention of her parents.
Important Scenes
While walking to the Cafeteria, Andrew asks Ally what she drinks. She responds with saying she drinks Vodka and tons of it. This is not surprising because in the 1980's most teenagers drank. Since she is a compulsive liar it would not be surprising if she had only said she drank Vodka to look "cool." At the time teenage drinking was a problem, which is why Candy Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also known as MADD, in 1980. MADD was created to protect families from drunk driving accidents and underage drinking accidents by educating the kids on what they should do to stay safe and prevent accidents.
Allison Reynolds: I'll do anything sexual. I don't need a million dollars to do it either. Claire Standish: You're lying. Allison Reynolds: I already have. I've done just about everything there is except a few things that are illegal. I'm a nymphomaniac.
Although untrue, Allison tells the group, specifically Claire that she is a nymphomaniac. It was believable because Allison is viewed as the weird one and because most
teenagers at the time were having sex. Allison uses this lie in order to get
Claire to admit that she had never had sex, since "popular" girls
assumably at the time got with many guys.How it relates: Unfortunately, teen pregnancy was high
because many people didnt have protected sex, causing a rise in HIV/AIDS. Due
to the increase in pregnancy, President Reagan signed a law called the
Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA). The AFLA federally funded small scale in
local programs designed to prevent teenage pregnancy, encouraging
"chastity and self-discipline" among teenagers.
Relation to the 80's
Allison is a thief and compulsive liar and enjoys eating cereal sandwiches covered in sugar, while amusing herself by using her dandruff as snow. She is in detention because she has nothing better to do, since she doesn’t have friends and her parents don’t pay attention to her, as seen when Allison is barely out of the car and her parent drives away. She is the least hesitant to talk about her home life openly, specifically opening up to Andrew, the jock, and ultimately gets the other characters to reveal their feelings. It is not unordinary that Allison acts strange because she doesnt have anyone to stop her. Most parents in the 1980's were committed and consumed in their careers, especially because women had begun appearing in the workplace, therefore there werent as many families who had a parent at home at all times.