Exterior Portrayal vs. Interior Qualities

In the book, "Send Me Down a Miracle", by Han Nolan, the main character, Charity, in the beginning of the book, worships Adrienne, an artist who has come to her small time to work on her art. She sees her as a free spirit, one who isn't trapped by her hometown or close-minded like the people in her tiny town. Charity sees Adrienne as the polar opposite of her father, who's the town's preacher. She dislikes her father and strives to be unlike him, while she likes Adrienne and wants to mimic her every move.

This being said, I've noticed through the course of the book that Adrienne and "the reverend" actually have a lot in common. They're both selfish, putting themselves before others, both steadfast in their values, and both have their "escapes", The reverend's in the bible, and Adrienne's in her art. So, if they're both flawed, and rather similar people, why does Charity worship Adrienne and despise her father?

The answer to this, I think, lies mostly in the ways these two individuals portray themselves. The reverend is a serious, worrisome, composed person with a very sparse sense of humor. Adrienne on the other hand, is a seemingly carefree, openly-loving, funny, and extravagant person who is a breath of fresh air for Charity. Their differences in exterior personality, even though they may be all too similar on the inside, is how Charity decides who to model herself after.

Another reason that Charity seems to have put Adrienne on a pedestal is because her mother leaves just a few days before Adrienne comes to town, and even if Charity doesn't know it, she's subconsciously looking for a replacement. Adrienne is someone who treats her as special, and gives her love, something her father doesn't.

This book is a very interesting look on personality, human nature, religion, conformity, and coming-of-age, along with many other things. I would definitely recommend it to my classmates.

Hidden Traits

In "The Hobbit" by J. R. R. Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins, the main character of the book, undergoes a major change from the beginning of the book to the end. In the beginning of the book Bilbo is a timid Hobbit who would rather stay at home in his warm hobbit-hole than go on an adventure with 13 dwarfs and a wizard, which is what he ends up doing.

In the beginning of the book, when told that he might die on the adventure he's about to embark on, he falls on the ground and screams repeatedly, "Struck by lightning! Struck by lightning!", and then passes out from fear. However, by the end of the story Bilbo is risking his life to get gold back from a dragon, fighting goblins, and making truces between elves, men and dwarfs. Obviously, Bilbo has undergone a huge change since the beginning of the story, but what caused this change?

I think one of the reason's that Bilbo has changed so much is that he was forced to. He was kind of forced into going on the journey, but he did have a choice. I think that the brave part of him that chose to go on a perilous journey is the same part of him that stood up to all the dangerous obstacles on his journey. Over the course of the journey the part of him that decided to go on an adventure grows stronger, and he grows into an adventurous, noble hobbit, as opposed to the admittedly good-natured, but cowardly and lazy hobbit he was at the beginning of the story.

There are things in life that are difficult that can lead to us becoming better people. An example of this in my own life would be when my little brother was born. Now that I have to share with him, I feel like I've become a better role model, and a more generous person; however, when I first found out I was going to have a little brother, I was less than happy. Sometimes the things we resent immediately can turn out to be those that make us grow most as people.

A Missing Button

The book "Corduroy" by Don Freeman, was one of my favorite books when I was about 4. It's about a teddy bear who's missing a button, and doesn't think he'll ever be bought, but then gets bought by a little girl who sews back on the button. Looking back on the book, I can see a much more obvious message the author is trying to show. I think the message is that even if you aren't perfect, you can find someone who will love you, and "fix" your flaws.

While at my age it seems like kind of a cliche message, I think it's a really important one for people to learn, or at least partially identify with. The book seems like kind of a counter-statement to a lot influences that give the message that people should try to be as close to perfect as they can get. It's an important thing for little kids to learn, mostly because it's a good memory to have in their  heads when they start wanting to be perfect.

Another message I think the message gives is that it's okay to be flawed. Corduroy tries to get a button to replace his missing one, but ends up knocking over a lamp and falling over. I think this is the author's way of saying that if you try to fix your "flaws", you might end up hurting yourself. Some real world examples of this are disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. Another different example or this would be people who get plastic surgery and then get infections and various other ailments form the foreign substances in their bodies.

I like the message, because I've come to realize that it is, for the most part true. I know that I'm definitely a flawed person, but their are people who see all my flaws, and still love me, like my family, and some of my close friends. I think this is a really great message to give to little kids.