The novel further explores the reasons as to why individual vs Individual conflict arises which is due to predominantly envy the perpetrator feels towards the victim thus being perceived as a threat to them and potentially their social status. The novel examines in depth the predominant initiator of the conflicts experienced by Avalon. The sole instigator of the conflict she experiences is jealousy due to the abstruse envious feelings of the major antagonists named Alice and Sukey, one of Avalon's first friends as well as " Dragon Girl", the predominant perpetrator of the bullying Avalon is continually subjected to. Throughout the novel, Avalon experiences conflict with one of the popular girls named Alice who as a result of being envious of …show more content…
Avalon exhibited a hostile attitude towards her as she was perceived as a threat to her social status thus the need for Alice to actuate in a hostile demeanor towards Avalon. This is evident when Alice confesses as to why she had prompted the conflict between them “ The thing is I could have easily liked you. But you were so pretty, confident and smart, I thought you would be more popular than me.” McCaffrey establishes that the principal reason as to why the conflict between her and Alice had arisen was due to the envious feelings of Alice towards Avalon. This specific quote provides the reader with the information that conflict can be initiated due to envy the perpetrator may be feeling which is the sole intention of exhibiting hostility and loathsomeness towards them. Furthermore, envy is the prime instigator of the conflict Avalon experienced between both Alice and Sukey which had detrimental impacts on Avalon's self-esteem and the people around her. This is evident in the quote when Sukey reveals herself as Dragon Girl and tells Avalon why she targeted her from page 260 " I was jealous. I really wanted to have a best friend and be popular. This quote reveals the sole purpose of the conflict which was initiated between her and Avalon due to her envious feelings of Avalon's "perfect" life in comparison to her own, which then further led to her need to cope with her emotions through inaugurating a hate campaign towards Avalon under the guise " Dragon Girl" which prompts Avalon to demean herself as she was rarely subjected to any form of social conflict prior to her migration to the city. This quote additionally conveys to the reader that jealousy can have dire consequences on the victim as the perpetrator goes beyond a certain extent to deteriorate the person and their self-esteem to feel more confident about themselves and to cope with their profound ire and envious emotions which provoke both self-hate and the need to demean others. Throughout the novel, McCaffrey investigates in depth the instigators of different conflicts and the harmful nature, they can have on the victims and their well being. Avalon, the protagonist of the novel written by Kate McCaffrey entitled " Destroying Avalon" , experiences different types of conflicts as she adapts to her new school environment and attemptedly fulfills her obsessive desire to fit in.
Her obsessive desire to belong and integrate into her new school environment soon provoked the various conflicts to arise which had pernicious impacts on herself and those around her. The novel follows fourteen-year-old Avalon as she moves from the country to an urban high school and finds herself in the centre of a brutal, bullying campaign in which she is inundated with loathsome messages from the anonymous students at her school who constantly exhibit hostility towards her as a result of her reputation. Avalon’s hopes of fitting into her new school environment are hindered when she is rejected by the popular girls and in turn, is forced to question and constantly doubt herself as to why she was not integrating with the others at school. This is established when Avalon overheard one of the popular girls say to her other friend that she is completely up herself, which prompted her to question as to why they rejected her and what she had done wrong to them “ It really worried me. I wasn’t sure what reason anyone would have not to like me. I hadn’t done anything wrong - though I felt like everything I did was wrong ”. This quote tells the reader that Avalon’s desire to fit was the sole instigator of her inner conflict due to being rejected by the popular girls. As an aftermath of this conflict, Avalon's behavior begins to change negatively engendering conflict between herself and family due to her behavior changes and hostile attitude she exhibited towards her younger sister, Ruby. McCaffrey establishes the fact that the conflict she had infuriated her to an extent in which she couldn't control her emotions, thus the need to exhibit anger and exasperation towards her family. Furthermore, another deleterious impact which was a result
of the conflict was her mental health deteriorating and gradually becoming emotionally and mentally unstable. This is apparent in the quote " I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE !" from page 173 during a conversation with her parents to discuss school and why her behaviour was changing. This quote conveys how much the conflict she was experiencing profoundly impacted her and what it was provoking her to feel. Through the utilisation of capitalized words , it emphasises to the reader that the inimical impacts of bullying are profound and have a large toll on the self-esteem and mental health of the victim triggering them to lose their sanity due to the hate and maliciousness of the bullying they are receiving. Through the conflict she experiences, it is then when she realizes how dire the ramifications of bullying are on herself and the people around her. Through the conflict in which she experiences, it is then when she realizes how dire the ramifications of bullying are on herself and the people around her. As a result of the bullying Avalon witnesses and the impact it has on those around her and the decisions they make, Avalon comes to the realisation of just how grave bullying can be. Bullying has detrimental impacts not only on the victim but on the perpetrators as well due to the profound guilt they may be experiencing consequently as a result of the harm they have inflicted on their victims. It is after Marshall’s death that, Avalon begins to understand the life-changing and damaging implications of bullying on herself and those. Avalon learns that the implications of bullying are inimical to the lives of the victims and those around them. Avalon’s wellbeing and mental health begin to deteriorate due to the horrific aftermath of Marshall’s death. This is clearly demonstrated in the quote from page 164 “ I wanted to cry but the tears were all gone. Marshall died last night, Marshall died last night, MARSHALL DIED LAST NIGHT”. Through the utilisation of repetition with the words “ Marshall died last night” McCaffrey emphasises how dire the consequences of his death were on Avalon as he was her closest friend who supported and helped her throughout the novel prior to his sudden death. The quote additionally conveys that Marshall was incapable of controlling his emotions and felt ensnared at school and at home as he was constantly subject to harassment from the peers at his school who taunt him maliciously and manifest animosity towards him due to his sexual orientation. It is clearly evident that Marshall was unable to confide in anyone about his feelings which ultimately provoked him to commit suicide. Not only does this convey that he was unable to control his emotions, furthermore it conveys how pernicious and deleterious the lasting ramifications of bullying are not only the victim but also the people around them predominantly friends and family.
As a teen, Rayona is in a confusing period of life. The gradual breakdown of her family life places an addition burden on her conscience. Without others for support, Rayona must find a way to handle her hardships. At first, she attempts to avoid these obstacles in her life, by lying, and by not voicing her opinions. Though when confronting them, she learns to feel better about herself and to understand others.
Her struggles are of a flower trying to blossom in a pile of garbage. Growing up in the poor side of the southside of Chicago, Mexican music blasting early in the morning or ducking from the bullets flying in a drive-by shooting. Julia solace is found in her writing, and in her high school English class. Mr. Ingram her English teacher asks her what she wants out of life she cries “I want to go to school. I want to see the word” and “I want so many things sometimes I can’t even stand it. I feel like I’m going to explode.” But Ama doesn’t see it that way, she just tells, Julia, she is a bad daughter because she wants to leave her family. The world is not what it seems. It is filled with evil and bad people that just want to her hurt and take advantage of
The main conflict is Ellen’s inner conflict and the effect that her repressed feelings have on her life and her attitudes.
Her father works out of town and does not seem to be involved in his daughters lives as much. Her older sister, who works at the school, is nothing but plain Jane. Connie’s mother, who did nothing nag at her, to Connie, her mother’s words were nothing but jealousy from the beauty she had once had. The only thing Connie seems to enjoy is going out with her best friend to the mall, at times even sneaking into a drive-in restaurant across the road. Connie has two sides to herself, a version her family sees and a version everyone else sees.
Though, acceptance of trauma can allow hindered development, eventually allowing full self-acceptance. Bernice, a once strong woman has been verbally, emotionally and physically abused since her childhood. Resulting in a loss of her sense of being. Within the beginning of the novel, when she is reflecting on her past memories, it becomes clear to the reader that in order for her to be able to accept herself, she needs to surface her past traumas. Bernice explains that, “In the tendrils, Bernice realizes there is remorse in her body and she is trying to kick it out. Her shell rejects remorse. Shame. Feeling bad over feeling good” (49). This mindset is negative and expresses her inability to share her emotions due to previous emotional abuse from her family and the many men that have taken advantage of her. This idea of disallowing happiness hinders her ability to accept herself and her past actions. However, through more time of self-reflection (over 200 hundred pages of her lying in bed with the author switching perspectives, confusing the hell out of me lol) Bernice realizes that she must learn to cope with these traumas and attempt to have a positive outlook on life. As Bernice is accepting the damaged part of herself, she comes to the realization that, “She can feel her body now, its loose and stiff at the same time. Her head, though will be the hard part. Part of her lost for so long that it is hard to enunciate what, exactly, she has found” (228). In comparison to when Bernice was unable to acknowledge her feelings and thoughts, it is now clear that she is slowly learning to manage her issues. By Bernice discovering that she is beginning to acknowledge her thoughts, this is the first step to being able to accept one’s self. In Total, It is shown that Bernice is deeply affected by the trauma within her life, however she is able to
influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can
Tracy’s identity development is heavily influenced by her new friendship with Evie from that moment on. Evie is so popular, but she makes very poor choices and Tracy follows her lead because she wants to seem just as “cool” as her new companion. This is a type of peer pressure that affects many teenagers daily.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Films are necessary in our time period because the human eye can articulate the message intended through sight allowing visual imagination to occur. In the book, world 2 by Max Brooks, he creates a character by the name Roy Elliot who was a former movie director. Roy Elliot manages to make a movie titled “Victory at Avalon: The Battle of the Five Colleges” and some how it goes viral. Similarly, Frank Capra’s film, “Why we Fight” expresses a sense of understanding the meaning of wars. Films do not inevitably portray truth because they display what the film director views as important and beneficial for people to know.
The main positive influences were her new friends; especially Evan and Teddy. Evan takes the position of Brynna 's best friend when she moves to Hawthorne High and the two quickly gain trust in one another. Evan choses Brynna to be the first person to ‘come out’ to and in return Brynna tells Evan about Erica and the night she died. However not being completely honest and leaving out the fact that it had been her dare she thought that had gotten her best friend killed. Evans trust in Brynna is tested when ‘Erica’ was listening and decided to hurt Evan and frame Brynna. ‘Who else, Brynna? I told you, just you.’ Evan stared at her, his whole face contorted in pain, surprise and biting anger. The author’s descriptive emotions cause the reader to feel very empathetic to both Evan and Brynna as they know that ‘Erica’ did it and not Brynna but Evan can’t and would never believe her and still got hurt in ‘Erica’s’ twisted games with. Evan did eventually come back to Brynna though, worried about her disappearance and with the help of her other friends kept her alive. Teddy was also a major part of her happiness in this story as he was a ‘romantic interest’ of sorts. Although Brynna switches between wanting to be with him and being too afraid to let someone get too close to her in case ‘Erica’ hurts them. Teddy confuses Brynna’s fear for a disinterest in
A major conflict is focusing on after Alice’s brain operation, she perceives to everyone and herself she’s the same girl she used to be. Unfortunately, her friends and family don’t agree that she is the same person. “You’re always saying that you are still you because you have the same brain, but who is to say that your whole personality is in your head?” (pg.5) Jenny argues that Alice is a completely different person than who she used to be. Their mother stands up for Alice but secretly does not agree with her, she does not see Alice as the daughter she used to have. “Sometimes I think my sister is dead.” (pg.5) This similar quote is showing how powerful Jenny feels about the new Alice and her failure to see how Alice is truly seeking self reflection. “Alice stared at her mother, but again her mother avoided her eyes.” (pg.5) This final quote impacts the reader 's empathetically and Alice immeasurably knowing that her own mother doesn’t accept her for who she is now. These quotes show the frustration from Alice and her family, skillfully building apprehensive conflict in the rising
Our world, and lives, are full of trials and tribulations. Its our choices, actions, or lack thereof when facing these difficulties that influence the direction of our lives. Rene Denfeld explores this wonderfully in her novel The Enchanted. Her characters all face trials, of varying degrees of intensity, that not only shape them but also the direction of their lives. She delves into this process thoroughly through her character of the white-haired boy. He transforms from an optimistic boy, to a hollow victim of abuse and a corrupt penal system, and finally into a man who did what was necessary to survive.
Anne was not a very good student. She did not like school at all. She could not focus on her studies and her disobedience towards her teachers made them talk to her parents to seek for a counselor. But, her parents did not take the teacher’s advice. Anne’s parents sent her to a boarding school called Rogers Hall in Lowell, Massachusetts. At that time, she started writing poetry and acting. Her beauty charmed many men towards her. At the age o...
In the novel “The Adoration of Jenna Fox” written by Mary E Pearson, two important ideas that are shown throughout the novel is Acceptance and Boundaries. Acceptance is important to a teenager because they are going through that time in there life where most things about them change and they just have to accept that. Boundaries is shown in the way that Jenna’s parents hold her back
Acceptance of who we are plays a large part in the overall theme of “rite of passage” in the story. The young girl is opposed to the thought of working for her mother at the beginning, but eventually comes to a realization that it is her pre-determined fate to fit the mould of the gender stereotype. Through the girl’s hardships, she accepts the fact that her younger brother, Laird, is now the man that his father needs for help, and she takes her place in womanhood. The story embodies gender identity and stereotypes, as a young child moves into adulthood. The fact that our rite of passage is unavoidable proves that we must all go through our own journeys to find our own true identity.
Throughout the novel, Alice finds herself lost in untrodden territory that she must adjust to despite the distressing unfamiliarity. Her confusing conversation with the Mad Hatter is the first step in understanding that not everything in life comes with a logical explanation. Similarly, her experience with the Queen of Hearts’ abrupt behavior helps her to become used to quickly adapting to delicate situations that she may be unaccustomed to. Finally, the illogical criminal trial for the Knave of Hearts consolidates the idea that she must forgo her close mindedness to unpredictable situations and be prepared to handle anything. Alice’s lesson could easily be applied to the real world as an individual is often thrown into a depth of water they are unused to, but still must learn how to swim in.