“I’m a chump. So what?” says Doug Swieteck (pg. 123 Okay for Now, Gary D. Schmidt). Doug has no real friends, a criminal brother, a father who does not care, and receives the shocking news his family is moving to a little place no one has ever heard: Marysville, New York. Anyone feels terrible in that situation, especially with no one to help. He also takes on a grocery delivery job, learning to read, babysitting, becoming an artist, being in a play, and returning missing pages to an Audubon book of birds. Over the course of Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, Doug luckily meets a few adults who assist him with the struggles he faces. With Mrs. Windermere, Coach Reed, and Mr. Powell to guide him, Doug will navigate his new life in Marysville …show more content…
He declares war with Coach Reed, the Physical Education teacher when Doug refuses to go over to the skins team. It escalates to the zenith where Coach rips Doug’s gym shirt in half, exposing a tattoo Doug’s father had inked permanently on Doug’s chest that says “Mama’s Baby”. From them on, Doug is full of hatred towards Coach Reed, who he nicknames the, “So-Called Gym teacher,” (Schmidt pg. 199). In his rage, Doug bypasses the wrestling unit until Principal Peaty requires him to take two periods of gym to make up for it. Doug’s fury burns until he catches a glimpse of Coach’s clipboard, full of detailed sketches picturing the Vietnam War. This hits especially close to home for Doug because his brother, Lucas, has recently returned home missing both of his legs. Suddenly, Doug sees Coach in a whole new way; he views Coach as someone who has many gruesome experiences he struggles with. Doug wants Coach to help Lucas, who is dealing with his own burdens of war, but Coach always brushes off his requests. Finally, one day outside the library, Coach Reed says to Lucas, “‘Maybe you could come work for me’,” (Schmidt pg. 337). This influences Doug indirectly because Lucas now has a job, making him feel purposeful, and the money Lucas makes is going towards Doug’s future college education. Though Doug and Coach Reed get off the a rocky start, they eventually mend their differences and help each other in
Okay for Now is the story about a boy named Doug Swieteck, who seems to be a baseball fanatic who moves with his family to a small town in upstate New York in 1968. With his older brother in Vietnam, his other brother accused of robbery, and his father 's anger constantly reaching its limits, Doug struggles to find a place to fit in at home. not to mention, being the new kid in school comes with its own difficulties. Between his gym coach who seems to hate him and being forced to read Jane Eyre, Doug needs a break. One day as he takes a trip to the town library, he is drawn to a large book under a glass display and finds himself fascinated by the drawings inside.
During this situation, Doug is talking back to Coach Reed just to show the whole gym class that he is a troublemaker and he didn 't stop back talking to Coach Reed. Secondly, ¨I
Ben’s Mother never gives up on Ben’s education because she knows and learned from her own mistakes. She doesn 't want Ben to follow her footsteps, so Ben’s Mother makes it her life goal to make Ben treasure his education. She makes him treasure the education because she only has a third grade education and it came and bit her in the butt. Ben’s mother makes Ben education better by making him read 2 books each week and write a book report about it, But the thing is Ben’s mother doesn 't even know how to read. The result from Ben and his mother hard work payed off, when Ben got into a great college and later on became a famous world wide surgeon.
What Wes hadn’t realized was that his grandparents had given up years and years of savings and mortgage payments to be able to afford his schooling. Once Wes had succumbed to the fact he was stuck there and began to follow the military school practices and protocols he started to excel. Over his years of being there, he grew a great appreciation for reading and academics, he had matured and grown up a lot and had become a well-respected sergeant at a very young
Throughout the book Knowles teaches the reader each of the boy’s has their struggles but, each boy also has their own unique strengths. For example, when Finny came to get Gene to go and watch Leper finally jump out of the tree and Gene could not go and watch that because he had to study
Personal sacrifice can be nearly impossible, but is a necessity in life. This first began in the novel when Saul loses his family, persisting at the school and surfacing again once Saul 's hockey career gets serious. Saul’s life is made up of devastation, quickly making the story a miserable one. Introducing with Saul 's siblings being taken away, his home soon following, his childhood. The first tremendous sacrifice the reader experiences on a more empirical level was Saul’s grandma giving up her life so he could survive.
The readers learn to value relationships, to not allow pride to become an evil necessity, and to appreciate the little things. These all combine to contribute to the overall theme. With the narrator’s brother, becoming weaker and weaker, day by day, it creates an uneasy feeling arising from the reader, about the results of Doodle, and if he will survive. The narrator reflects back on the memories, and the love he surely had for Doodle, “There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction, and at times I was mean to Doodle” (597). This quote justifies the guilt the narrator had, in effect of not every fully acknowledging the passion and devotion he actually had towards Doodle.
Theodore Roosevelt in his letter to his son, The Proper Place For Sports(1919), proposes to his son that football in college is dangerous and he should think before he play. He supports his claim by first bringing up the subject, then telling his son of he should make the decision, then telling his son to not let sports get in the way of school, in closing he states general things going on to change the subject. Roosevelt’s purpose is to beget the problems of football in order to make his son realize the consequences of playing and make him rethink. He adopts a sincere tone for his athletic son.
She was reading angry at her brother because he destroys the family making the parent suffer emotional and mental. She explains how the brother addiction turns her house outside down with this attitude. However, the brother addiction makes the parents to never give up on him even though his negative behavior toward them. Parents love him unconditional because it was their son. Even though he was not on the best path, they still support him and be on his side because they believe that he can change.
He pointed out Mr. Cathey consistent bombardments of challenges and how he handle each situation. Every good point in his life such as becoming a father was met with a bad point in which he couldn’t go to school because he became a father. The author allowed us to feel happy for the situations that seemed any reasonable person would feel good about and upset about the unforeseen variables that tend to find Mr. Cathey. The author makes sure you feel the joy and pain of a young man who could have made it to a higher level but came up short because of his bad decision
In the midst of all of this he finds a balance by focusing on what really matters. At the same time this keeps him focused on his main goal which is education. Education will be his family's way out of poverty. Through seeing his younger brother that is unemployed and will be having a child soon he looks beyond this and is genuinely proud of where he comes from. He realizes how strong his family is when he seems them fighting through poverty and making things.
In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.
Chris, the protagonist is born into a period of the Great Depression and sets unrealistic and unattainable goals. His attempts at escape leaves Chris in state of that which is a broken psychologically. Chris faces multiple internal and external conflicts that get in the way of achieving his dream. Conflicts involving his Grandfather and his environment as well as internal conflict regarding himself. All of these aspects are enough of a disincentive to keep Chris away from achieving his dream of becoming a civil engineer, and only exist as a backbone of aspiration other than a
Brother now sees the horrible effect pride has had changed his life. In this story Brother has learned that pride has covered his love. He has also learned that Doodle has loved him and if they would have loved each other equally that maybe Doodle could have died differently. This story is a life lesson. Pride affects everybody and it is important to remember that their is a cruel streak in
Since The Road is more about the Boy’s journey than his father’s, the supreme ordeal at the end of the novel is the death of the Man. The death of the Man, who acted as the Boy’s mentor during the many challenges faced by the duo, represents the largest and most devastating challenge faced by the Boy. Not only is this due to the fact that the Boy feels unprepared to continue on without his father, but it is also because the “reward” and “road back” are not immediately apparent to the Boy. Compared to even the most challenging obstacles the Boy faced in the past, the death of his father leaves him both physically and mentally pained and exhausted. However, relief from his situation arrives promptly in the form of the stranger who claims to be a “good guy,” though the Boy’s future remains forever uncertain.