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Thematic Essay On You Don T Know Me

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You Don’t Know Me Thematic Essay In David Klass’ novel, You Don’t Know Me, the reader is introduced to, and learns to sympathize for, John, a fourteen-year-old boy who’s soon-to-be-stepfather beats him. Because of this tragedy, John’s self-esteem is significantly reduced, leading him to believe he is less than he is really worth and the world he lives in isn’t as it seems. From bad dates to algebra class, and all the embarrassing mishaps in between, John is made into an introverted underachiever, all because of his stepfather’s cruel actions. The novel shows how a bully's words and actions can lower someone's self-confidence. John’s stepfather abuses him and lowers his morale. We can see how the effect of this when John is about to ask out his crush. John discloses about her, Gloria, “...I am thinking of asking her out on a date, and when she says no I want to be able to tell myself I didn’t really want to go out with her anyway…” (10). From this, we can interpret John’s word choice in order to see deeper into his feelings at the time. Instead of questioning “if she says no” John states, “when she says no”. This leads us to consider that John is convinced his crush won’t want to go out with him and he doesn’t even accept that he has the slightest chance. John’s lack of …show more content…

When John is in trouble at school for speaking his thoughts about a teacher aloud and he is suspended, Stan, his guardian at that point in time, proclaims, “You will never, ever, ever, screw up in school again, you little turd.” Stan then "whaps" John on the head for the fourth time that day and John avows, “Yes sir.” (215). By abusing John for speaking his mind, Stan is discouraging John for ever saying anything, in fear he will be battered once again. This behavior is doing nothing to affect John’s personality positively and these actions have caused John’s confidence to

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