Ashes By Susan Beth Pfeffer Theme

654 Words2 Pages

Honesty on the Line Honesty is a value that is imperative to the trust and honor of a person. When the main character in “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer, is faced with a decision that may cause her to break the trust she has with her mother, she is torn as to what she should do. The main character is Ashleigh, a middle school age girl, whose parents are divorced. Within the last couple months previous to the story, Ashleigh had decided she liked her dreamer of a father more than her practical, prepared mother. In the middle of the story, Ashleigh’s dad asks her to steal $200 out of her mom’s teapot of extra money for his newest deal. Therefore, Ashleigh is portrayed as a flat character as her personality is not very developed, but the reader can tell that she will …show more content…

Rather than explaining the specific thoughts of Ashleigh, the author explains the emotions that Ashleigh feels by adding detail to her responses in the situations that she faces. Later in the story, Ashleigh’s dad sat in a seat where he could monitor who came in the door, and Ashleigh’s “stomach was hurting in an old familiar way” because she knew that her dad was in trouble (40). This detail is not especially descriptive regarding Ashleigh’s feelings. The detail tells that Ashleigh feels nervous that her father is making potentially dangerous decisions. Soon after she notices that her dad is anxious about being discovered at the diner, Ashleigh’s dad tells her that he owes a group of people $200, and she has to try “to keep the panic out of [her] voice” (41). This detail exhibits the flat characteristics of Ashley through the lack of detail, but the concern she has for her dad and the money explains that she understands the depth of the situation. Ashleigh is a flat character, but the author has included enough detail about her reactions that the reader is still able to pick up on her disguised

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