Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Reading Response (aka Literary Essay)

           The book that I've been reading for the past week is called The Chocolate War by,  Robert Cormier. It's about a boy named Jerry Renault and he goes to an all boy ycatholic high school. He refuses to sell chocolates in the annual Trinity School Fund Raiser. Jerry is in a secret school society called the Vigils. I think he's a normal teenage boy trying to fit in at a new school , considering he's a freshman .
           One thing that shows Jerry is trying to fit in is he tries our for the football team. He never seemed like the kid to try out for the football team. He was the one the coach would always pick on. The kids on the football team would always yell at him for not catching the ball or throwing it right. But as time progressed , he was getting better and the coach started to like him better and so did his team mates. So in a way he started to fit in.
             Another thing that shows that Jerry is trying to fit in is he's in a secret school society called the Vigils. Only selected students are allowed to attend to the society.  It doesn't seem like him to be in that sort of group , he seems like he can be independent and doesnt need people bossing him around , i think he's only in that group to feel important because when your a freshman not many people are aware of you and think your a nobody and they can do anything they want to you. In orer to be officially in the group uyou must perform a task the "boss" tells you to do. Jerry had to unscrew all the screws in his classroom . He was doing it but he felt guilty and couldn't finish alone so he had some help. He probrably felt pressured to do it . That's another thing any teenager can go through , peer pressure.
            Jerry is a nice sweet kid that tries to fit in . He tries out for the  football team and is part of a group that everyone would want to be in but only selected students permitted. He's only a freshman and he wants people to know him in a good way , and for people to be friendly and know who is is . He wants to feel important or feel like he's someone that everyone would want to get to know.
             Many teenagers now a days try to fit in in some way . Whether its trying out for sports , or getting into a group thats popular or being the kid that everyone knows , teens go through these feelings . Another thing that teens go through is peer pressure , they always feel pressured into doing things that their friends tell them to do .