The Fifth Rule Character Analysis

Award-winning author Mandy Hale once stated, “Without negativity, life would be amazing.” However, this statement does not always prove to be true. Today’s modern community generates a judgement that negative experiences will ruin your life, but studies show that negativity can actually result in positive change. For example, negativity can positively change teenagers actions, introduce teenager’s to more supportive environments, and help fix broken relationships.

One of the many ways negativity can help is by positively changing teenager’s actions. For example, when there is a criminal offence, the initial reaction people have is to throw the person in jail. However, studies show that this is not always the best solution. Mistakes can actually

change people for the better. Reef, the protagonist in the novel The First Stone, shows how a teenager can change due to negative experiences. Reef made a reckless decision to throw a rock over an overpass, nearly murdering a girl. After meeting the girl that he had “broken”, he exclaims, “I’m so sorry. You gotta believe me… But the guy who did that isn’t the guy that’s here now. A person can change” (Aker 279). The fact that Reef repeats this statement multiple times implies he is not lying and has undeniably changed. Many teenagers face the same issues today. They want to keep up a tough guy routine, but in reality, they may also be struggling. Many teenagers feel as if there is no one there for them, so they act like that as well. Reef lived in poverty since early childhood and received emotional abuse from his grandfather. He also lost his grandmother, who he felt was the only person that loved him. Despite this, he still managed to pick himself up off the ground and become a better person.

Another way that negative experiences can result in positive change is by introducing teenagers to more supportive environments.

Problems can always cause trouble in the future and in the novel The Fifth Rule, the story’s protagonist, Reef, is in big trouble. During a hearing, Decker, one of the antagonists of the story, states, “ … this young man [Reef] was, you might say, a graduate of North Hills’s rehabilitation program and yet, a year later at age nineteen, he remains a danger to society” (Aker 144). This incident threatened the closure of the North Hills Group, but because of Frank’s previous support, Reef was able to convince the judge to keep the group open. This shows that Reef meeting Frank has really influenced Reef’s life. Frank helps Reef transform from an inconsiderable egoist to a kind and respectable young man. Reef shows what many teenagers experience today. Counsellors, psychiatrists, and rehabilitation centres are all examples of supportive environments in our world today. When teenagers are anxious, they tend to need all the help they can get, just like how Judge Thomas and Frank Colville have helped Reef. This shows how well supportive environments can help change negative experiences into positive

results.

Lastly, relationships that were previously broken can be brought together. Negative experiences such as broken relationships have a big effect on how people act in difficult situations, especially when alone. Jacinda, the main character in the story How to Tell Renata, proves this. Renata, Jacinda’s mother, is dating a man named Jerry. However, Jacinda feels uncomfortable around him because she feels as if he has been sexually harassing her, but she is afraid to tell Renata about this When deciding about how she could tell Renata, Jacinda thinks, “If she doesn’t believe me, she’ll hate me, thinking I’m lying about the guy she loves. Or maybe she will believe me, and hate me even more” (Holeman 2). Through this quote, the writer implies that Renata and Jacinda have a broken relationship. The fact that Jacinda feels that she cannot tell Renata about her problems entails that the relationship between Jacinda and Renata’s relationship is very weak.The relationship between Jacinda and her mother is so strained that Jacinda does not even refer to Renata as her mother. Now, Jacinda does not have anyone to talk to and is dealing with this major problem on her own. When Jacinda finally has enough courage to speak to Renata, Renata already found out about the issue and understood the challenges that Jacinda has faced. Like this, many teenagers in society today may face harassment as a result of broken relationships, but what really matters is that in the end, the once broken relationship will now be resolved. This shows how adequately negative experiences can help fix broken relationships.

In overall consideration, negativity can actually be better to have rather than avoiding it, thoroughly displaying why Mandy Hale’s statement is greatly false. Negative experiences can influence positive change into teenagers. Also, meeting new and better people can positively influence teenager’s life, especially if they are meeting them because of a negative experience. Finally, it can fix broken relationships and reunite families. Although it may not seem like it at first, negative experiences really can result in positive change. Negative experiences come and go, but what is learned from them will be remembered forever.