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
Omar Cherif, an Egyptian actor, once said, “Insecurity can be so self-defeating that it often leads to a non-life." In the book “New Kid” by Jerry Craft, a 12-year-old boy named Jordan Banks overcomes many insecurities. The main themes of the book are friendship, embarrassment, in addition to racial inequality. Out of all the characters, Jordan has the most difficulty overcoming his own insecurities due to standing out, being different, and his art. To begin with, Jordan Banks fights the challenge of overcoming insecurities as he navigates the hardships of standing out in a new environment.
Her Dauhter Who has been a single Mother for Eleven years tells her about a man she likes, not one that she says she is going to marry but just on she likes and her first reaction is to ask about his pedigree, and the thing that sells her is his English sounding last name. The man could be a perfct fit for her daughter but if his name isn’t one of prestige im not gonna let her marry her. This kind of snootiness is essential to the setting of the novel and actually forms John into the man we see that throws temper tantrums about American media
The reader will start to fear for John’s safety mostly because they don’t know what will exactly happen to him. The uncertainty of John’s fate created an even more suspenseful outcome. By making John’s future unclear, the author was able to plant thoughts of unsureness and anxiety within the reader’s mind. Another internal event is when Alejandra went to visit John in the barn to talk about what Duena Alfonsa had said to him. After John Grady explained that he’s not allowed to be seen with her, Alejandra expresses the unfairness of her great-aunt’s order. At this moment, John starts to believe that he sees sorrow within Alejandra and starts to feel bad for her. He begins to feel concern for her and eventually agrees to disobey Duena Alfonsa and spend time with Alejandra. Right after John agreed to do whatever Duena Alfonsa asked him to do he breaks his promise once he sees Alejandra. His inner thoughts had an affect on his consciousness and changed his views on spending time with Alejandra. Due to John’s sympathy towards Alejandra’s apparent sadness, he makes the decision to go out with
After examining Mark’s scenario it was clear to see the developmental issues faced by this young man from various domains. For example, in Marks situation he shows signs of middle childhood biosocial development by how he assumes that the bullying is caused by his size and how he blames himself for the situation. In the book, The Developing
Imagine getting physically abused by your own mom for many years. This story is about a boy named Dave Pelzer. Dave Pelzer got under fed and abused by his mom. Dave's Mom was as mean as the devil. Whenever his dad came home, she didn’t want him to see her abusing David and comes up with an excuse for why he is hurt. His brothers ignore David so that they don’t get hurt or abused. Dave’s mom calls him “It” and “The Boy” because she says that he is a “bad boy” and doesn’t like him. In the story, A Child Called “It”, written by Dave Pelzer, the main character, Dave Pelzer, demonstrates that in life we should sometimes let go and make the best out of life. In the beginning of the book, Dave was dependent on his parents.
He also struggles with what every teenager experiences- self discovery. His experience as an Mexican-American teenager heavily influences his conversations with his parents. His ‘oneself against the world’ mentality further assists in his guarded nature. The novel is peppered with thoughts such as; “I don’t know who I am” (pg 194), and “I think I’m trying to find me, Dad” (pg. 65). His guardedness leads him to believe that when people are genuinely giving him affection, they pity him, while the opposite is
The boy, engulfed with embarrassment, plans to “fix” his brother. During the years a brotherly bond was created, however it was not strong enough from the narrator’s side and he let his pride overtake his love. When the plan failed, the boy abandoned his brother in a storm which concluded with his brother dying. Only at the end of the story, when the brother died, the boy realised how much his brother really meant to him however it was too late. This story has an unhealthy internal conflict with the narrator's pride and childish spite.
These curiosities should have been answer by a parent, Victor Frankenstein. However, Victor never put any effort in guiding the poor and innocent child. Evelyn Yeo in “How Does Emotional Abuse Affect Self- Esteem,” concludes that from the time of infant-hood to childhood, a child’s sense of self is defined by how he was treated and what he was told by his parents and primary caregivers. Infants especially, have no knowledge of who they are as a separate person so they rely heavily on their parents’ feedback. From parents’ trust, affection, and encouragement, the child will eventually grow up with confidence and achieve potential to make him or her parents’ proud. Overtime, self esteem will soon build upon them so they are prepared to be set in the real world (1).
Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, includes the topic of adolescent development, the book forces itself to thrive in conflict, and the idea of loving submission is present throughout the story as the discussion of modern issues becomes apparent. As expressed In the Perks of Being a Wallflower, “I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other”(Chbosky.)
Tobias Wolff’s memoir, “This Boy’s Life”, explores the idea that an individual’s actions can be altered due to the people they are exposed to. The protagonist Jack Wolff lives an impressionable life where he undergoes somewhat of a dilemma in relations to his actions, being incapable of changing for the greater good of himself. The absence of a proper male role model plays a large role on Jack’s actions, though is definitely not the only reason. Jack’s actions are influenced by Rosemary’s abusive and power craving ex-husband Roy, as well as Dwight’s violent and arrogant personality. However, Jack is also responsible for his
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the story of a unique high school student named Charlie and his journey of self-discovery throughout his freshman year. Charlie’s personality changes drastically from the beginning of the book to the end of it; and this is what I want to focus on. First I am going to detail Charlie’s personality at the beginning of the book and then use Erik Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development, Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development, Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and an article about adolescent bulling to analyze them. I will then use examples from the book and film to illustrate his growth in the respected areas. Through these major theories of psychology I will show Charlie’s evolution from a wallflower to a human being.
Authoritative teachers will often “try to catch their students being good” and will reinforce the good behavior, rather than focusing on the bad. (Iannelli, 2004). It is critical that teachers praise their students for their efforts. A teacher can teach the entire classroom by recognizing one child’s positive action. Children desire praise and they will learn appropriate behavior when their fellow students receive praise. When teachers focus on bad behavior and make an example of a particular student to the entire classroom, it only makes the child that is being reprimanded feel alienated, ashamed, embarrassed, or possibly revengeful.
Battling a problem back will lead to the person being more confident in himself and lead to emotional growth. “Kristina Erickson, 23, said she pursued punishment after her second sexual assault at Beloit College in Wisconsin. The first time, she said, she was “kind of wrestling around” in a dorm with a man she knew when things turned sexual.” (Nick Anderson and Scott Clement, 2015) Realizing that this terrible event can occur more than once, Kristina took charge and fought back.
While Christopher is aware of the interconnection between his past and present, he refuses to learn from them, rather he just deems them “cause and effect” and life complacently in his own life. Christopher’s desperate attempts to convince the reader and himself of his superiority and his capability way of fitting in just reveals the extreme insecurities that come with being alienated from society and family. The language of this novel is a powerful tool because in it’s unsophistication, it pushes the boundaries of the role of a reader in a novel. Orphanhood in this novel is a representation of the consequences and alienation one experiences when they try to run from their past tragedies; whether it be from family, cultural, or even from one’s true self. This novel attests to the fact that no matter how hard someone attempts to separate themselves from their past while failing to acknowledge the truths of their orphanhood they are running from, then they will perpetually be in a cycle of orphanhood rather than
In the novel Me And You by Niccolò Ammaniti, Lorenzo, the fourteen years old boy is unable to care for people except his parents. From Lorenzo 's point of view, he camouflages among his peers to get through his life. Even though he claims that he is superior and unique than the others, deep down it is a lie that he tells himself to protect his self-esteem from the fact that he can not make friends as an outcast. After spending time with the unexpected visitor, who is his half-sister Olivia, Lorenzo experiences sympathy and love for the others for the first time. Lorenzo transformed from a boy who runs away from his problems to a teenager who is able to take care for the others and brave enough to step out for his own life all due to his time together with Olivia. On the whole, Lorenzo is trapped by his narcissistic personality disorder that he can not understand his needs for friends and community until his half sister taught him how to love and be loved outside of his circle over an accidental encounter in the basement.