Book Review: The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman

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JashnD Mr.Jugovac ENG.1DO-I May 31 2017 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, tells the tale of a boy who was orphaned at a young age and was raised by ghosts. Nobody Owens, the protagonist; was raised and housed by ghosts for the majority of his life. However, at the age of fifteen, he is supposedly ready to leave the aid of the ghosts, and experience the world for himself. Unfortunately, for Nobody, this is impossible as he is dependant, introverted, and foolish. Thus, leading Nobody into a failed future filled with uncertainty. Throughout his life, Nobody had everything done for him. He rarely left the graveyard, and has not learned how to take care of himself. The Ghosts and and his guardian, Silas, who is also non-human, have catered …show more content…

By not having responsibilities, he denied himself the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them, thus making him inexperienced. His inexperience is what leads him to being foolish, he has only had a handful of experiences that require responsibility, and each time he has failed to do what was necessary. For example, when Nobody was first going to school, he was told not to interact with the students, and to stay unnoticed. However, he disobeyed his instructions, which resulted in punishment by the police, and needed Silas to rescue him. Additionally, in chapter 4, Nobody left the graveyard without telling anyone, and took a sacred treasure with him. “He reached down and closed his fingers around the coldness of the brooch.” (136 Gaiman) This resulted in him getting locked up by the owner of a thrift store, who also threatened to take his life. Fortunately, he was once again saved by a ghost. Nobody’s irrational behaviour causes the ghosts not to like him, as they are annoyed of his constant need for help, and inability to do as it is asked of him. As said by Silas “I cannot believe that you could be so… so stupid. Everything I told you about remaining on the side of invisibility. And now you've become the talk of the school?” (224 Gaiman) Moreover his actions also jeopardize his

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