Throughout life you encounter a numerous amount of obstacles. These obstacles don’t define you, how you handle them does. In the book “The Running Dream” by Wendelin Van Draanen, Jessica encounters the biggest obstacle that life could throw at her. Jessica has had to learn to adjust her life from what it was. Her life is changing and she has to decide if this accident defines who she is going to be while being surrounded by the love and comfort of her family. Throughout Jessica’s journey of losing her leg she acquires an enormous level of support and comfort from her family while she is finding her way. Losing a leg is something that nobody ever wants to happen, but Jessica didn’t get this choice. Along the way of the process of healing Jessica’s …show more content…
Depression affects teens everywhere, some teens are upset about home life, school life, or just personal issues in general. Jessica states, “Running aired out my soul. It made me feel alive. And now? I’m stuck in this bed, knowing I’ll never run again” (Van Draanen 6). Jessica is one of the most determined athletes on her track team, the one thing she wants to do most in the world is run, and she can’t do it anymore because of her leg. Jessica says, “So I am getting used to it, and I am gaining confidence but I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever race again. It almost doesn’t matter, though. I can run” (Van Draanen 279). The author makes it aware that Jessica is depressed, but eventually she becomes the happy girl who can run again. The author wants people to know that sometimes things are hard and you get upset, but everything will get better it just takes time. I know that depression is a very serious issue to deal with, and I think time really does fix all …show more content…
She chose to not let this injury define who she is. She had plenty of support from her friends and family that was comforting for her. She deals with some depression in the beginning of losing her leg, but finally finds her ground her new life and starts to love it. The ending was definitely worth the wait. It was nice to experience her get a happy ending after going through the tough journey with her. I gained the knowledge of knowing that everybody has a different story to them, and you find out who you really are in your most trying
Everyone including her daughter think of her as being "tangled" , and she has been wanting to present herself as a role model for her. The birth of her daughter was a very significant event in her life which got her to go on a road of becoming a "sweeter person". However, it is always been a habit of her to run away from her problems than actually face them. As, one day when examining a butterfly, she sees "knotted patterning of lines" which reminds her of her own mother who had "tried to teach [her] once" how to knit " before [she] ran away". It is her "job to drive the truck around" but she only does it so she is able to escape from all of her problems. But she "like it just fine". Her certainty to commit to her daughter conflicts with her personality of always running away from her problems which makes her surrender to her own self and letting go of the control of changing her identity
In the book Always Running written by Luis J. Rodriguez we meet the author at a young age, We accompany him as he grows into the Veteran gang lifestyle. Throughout the autobiography, Luis, a young Chicano who survived ¨La Vida Loca¨ in South San Gabriel gives voice to an unheard cry and illuminates the cycle of poverty and violence of gang wars. His families instability and the discrimination they received due to their ethnicity gives him a desire to hurt others and seek understanding in a deviant way. Rodriguez speaks on many of the issues we still see in our Latino communities today, The lack of resources; financially and emotionally. He narrates his own internal and external battles to gain respect, belonging, and protection.
Internal conflict is something that happens in all of our lives almost every day, and we don’t even think about it. The definition of internal conflict is when the problem is happening to the main character and his or her self. The book The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen, has a lot of internal conflict as well as a lot of external conflict which is when the problem is happening to the main character, and some type of outside force. In this book, the main character, Jess, loves running, and on her way to one of her track meets she got into a car accident. She was taken to the hospital, and the doctors had to amputate her leg below her right knee because it was mangled beyond any chance of possible repair. In this book there are many different conflicts, an example of an internal conflict is when Jess
Jessica exhibits this trait by reacting in an odd way as she faces the shocking news about her leg. The day after the accident, she wakes up in the hospital not knowing why she is there or what day it even is. As she opens her eyes, she sees her mother with red puffy eyes and the doctors tell her the horrific news. As she learns that she has no right foot, ankle or shin, Jessica sits on the hospital bed and is in complete and utter shock. Her mother breaks down, letting out a rallying cry while her teenage daughter does not react in the slightest way possible. The main character is simply at a loss of words and has no time to process what has just been told to her. Consequently, Jessica lacks major emotional response while she is told the news about her loss and all of the barriers she must conquer. In another section of the novel, Jessica returns back to school and is trying her hardest to obtain her original routine. As she walks into the school, she is bombarded with numerous questions and condolences. Jessica feels as if she is in both the spotlight and invisible nevertheless she also feels as if people do not know how to react to her. Jessica's depression is
In the book The Descent of Alette by Alice Notley, the book is a twist to what readers would expect. In the story, a girl name Alette is chosen for a certain mission and she goes in not knowing what to expect. Alette goes on these journey and face with challenges that she must overcome, but it is more about the destination then than the journey itself. One of the important theme throughout the book is transformation.
In the seventh chapter of Christopher McDougall’s book, Born to Run, published in 2009, McDougall Meets Caballo Blanco. McDougall cornered Caballo in a hotel and started asking him questions. Caballo agreed to talk with McDougall as long as he got some beans from one of his mamá’s. Caballo started talking about his past. He explained that his real name was Micah True and he originated from California. McDougall then ended the chapter by explaining that Caballo relaxed after a couple beers and went on to tell more stories.
In this week’s reading the book had a couple key points throughout the section. This was about the birth of the DREAMers and how they were taking a stand against other political groups. It talks about how youth come out of their shells creating a social movement for a different path of American citizenship. It discusses the “good” immigrant verses the “bad” immigrant.
“The Dreamer” by Junot Diaz is a very personal essay. Diaz pinpoints specific influences in his personal life that identify him. He introduces his audience to his background sharing with them what his inspirations have been. Before the text of the article, the publisher released background information about Diaz and his amazing accomplishments. “He is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, PEN/Malamud Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Diaz, The Dreamer)”, however these are only a portion of his accomplishments. By reading this segment of the text, the audience can conclude that Diaz is a successful writer that takes his craft seriously. The essay “The Dreamer” is rhetoric within itself. While ethos and pathos played significant
The article Keeping The Dream Alive by John Meacham is addressed to people who feel the American dream has died. The author compares historical events and today’s issues to encourage the reader that a simple call to action can revive the dream. Towards the end of the passage he quotes John Adams’ proclamation, “’If the American dream is to come true and to abide with us… it will, at the bottom, depend on the people themselves.” Assuming the reader is waiting on the government to provide a solution, Meacham presents ideas that encourage the readers to make the change themselves. The arrangement of historical feats and beliefs persuade the readers that the future of the American dream is in their hands.
In Stephen King’s, The Running Man, Ben Richards goes to the greatest lengths to do everything he can to save his daughter Catherine Sarah, who is sick. The Richards family is in the lower class population, so he needs to find a way to get the money so that he can take care of his daughter. Ben then takes it upon himself to sign up for a reality TV show that is called The Running Man. The purpose of this show is to kill the participants, and the viewers of the show can receive money if they tell “The Games People” about the participant’s whereabouts. Throughout the show he will get paid $100 for every hour he is alive and additional money if he kills any law enforcement, and if he survives he will receive a grand prize of $1 billion dollars.
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen is about a young runner, Jessica Carlisle, that runs the 400-meter dash at Liberty High as a senior. She had just set a new league record, 55 seconds flat, but on the way home from the meet the school bus she was on had a terrible accident. That accident caused Jessica to lose her leg, and another young student, Lucy Sander, to lose her life. This story will follow Jessica through the struggle she now calls her life as she recovers. It shows her reach milestones during recovery and in the real world. Once back at school, she is sat at a table with a girl, Rosa Brazzi, with cerebral palsy in math class. Watch Jessica battle through with the help of all those around her, find love, and most importantly
This article illustrates a couple of real-life stories of teenagers who faced depression and had to somehow deal with it. One of the teenagers, Brianne, described how she tried to kill herself because she was so depressed. She described her mental state by saying: “It was like a cloud that followed me everywhere. I couldn’t get away from it.” She started drinking and experimenting with drugs. At a certain point, Brianne could not take it anymore. Once, she was caught shoplifting at a store and after her mother brought her home, Brianne swallowed every single Tylenol and Advil that there was in the house. She was rushed to the hospital and survived. Brianne has been treated for her depression and is now in college and leads a very healthy lifestyle. She is one of the lucky kids that survived, but a lot of times, when depression in kids goes unnoticed, the outcomes are very tragic.
In the book Falling Into Place, Amy Zhang uses characterization to establish the theme of depression is a huge part of teenagers lives even if it doesn't stand out. The main character Liz does not care about anyone but herself and it is portrayed in the act of when she decides to tests Newton’s law and tries to end her own life by driving her car off the side of the road. She specifically drove far away from where she lives so that no one that knows, or loves her would ever find her. Her mother and some of her close friends are the only ones really devastated after finding this out and seeing her in the hospital. At her school even the teachers think it is some sort of a blessing that she does not have to attend their classes anymore, and the
Depression is an extremely delicate topic. In the novels “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher and “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” by Stephan Chbosky do an outstanding job hitting the topic depression. Both novels cover depression in its own style. In one, someone commits suicide while on the contrary, the other person surpasses depression. Support systems are vital during depression, lack of communication as well as self-expression all lead to an easy way out. Anyone who is suffering from depression should have at least one confident to be able to communicate to. Depression is a heavy weighed disease in which one needs all the support one can get. A voice is needed as well, in which many people are scared of having. In each of the novels each fictional
In the article, “Athletes and Coaches Report Mental Health is Slightly More Important Than Physical Health in Overall Performance; Both Agree That More Communication is Needed to Address Mental Health Concerns.”, the Minds in Motion Depression Awarenes Campaign conducted a survey and found that the athletes and coaches believed that “mental health shares an equal, and/or slightly greater role than physical health, in defining peak athletic