This Is Our Youth

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content and substance use.

Dennis Ziegler is one of two protagonists and the first character introduced when the play opens. He is described as “amazingly good-natured and magnetic, but insanely competitive and almost always successfully so” (5). He was popular and essentially worshipped in high school, but in his early adulthood his charm is no longer leading him to success. 

Dennis is characterized largely by the setting in which the play takes place, his apartment. It is fairly empty, with implications that he enjoys music, television, and comic books. The photographs on the wall, which contain the memories of his youth, are the only personal touch. Dennis’s apartment implies that Dennis appears vacuous and that he takes care not to reveal his true self.

Dennis is assertive and dominant and takes no issue with telling Warren or any of his other friends what to do. He insults people every chance he gets, and props himself up above others to dampen his deep feelings of insecurity and fear. Dennis also tends to panic and stresses out whenever Warren admits bad news. Dennis and Warren are best friends, but Dennis treats Warren poorly and frequently reminds him of his flaws.