In the novel, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, two struggling teens develop an unlikely relationship through an exploration of identity and friendship. Violet Markey is popular and Theodore Finch is the school freak. Violet and Finch meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school - both thinking about jumping off and committing suicide. It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. As Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love? There are two very obvious and prominent themes in this novel. Identity and …show more content…
Violet envies Finch’s freedom, while Finch is jealous of her close family. Violet’s parents are caring and super protective obviously more so due to her sister’s recent death. “Like Ryan, my parents are perfect. They are strong and brave and caring, and even though I know they must cry and get angry and maybe even throw things when they're alone, they rarely show it to me.” p56. One night, Violet does not come home because she was out with Finch and they lost track of time and fell asleep. Violet’s parents forbade her from seeing Finch after that incident. They are scared something might happen to the only daughter they have left. Violet’s parents’ actions are reasonable as they are certainly shaken from their daughter’s death. Violet appreciates her family but she also sees them as an obstacle she must mend before she can focus on herself. Finch’s mom is wrapped up in her own feelings and his dad lets his feelings come out with his fists. “But it's not just a headache I feel, I can see it, like it's made up of a million colors, all of them blinding. When I tried to describe it to Kate once she said, “You can thank Dad for that. Maybe if he hadn't used your head as a punching bag.” p156. As the author paints Finch’s parents as villains, some may argue Finch’s mental health issues are due to his father’s actions and his mother’s …show more content…
He seems to recognize his disorder on some level but he is still surprised when his guidance counselor mentions it. Finch tries to deal with it himself rather than going to get treatment and become a label. He goes to a suicide support group in a nearby town. He doesn’t want to be ill and he fights his suicidal tendencies to the best of his ability. Soon enough, Violet and Finch begin to wander. During these outings, they begin to strengthen their friendship and find themselves. “What if life could be this way? Only the happy parts, none of the terrible, not even the mildly unpleasant. What if we could just cut out the bad and keep the good? This is what I want to do with Violet ” p145. Violet improves, while Finch gets worse. His highs are high and his lows are low. Finch falls into a downward spiral that starts with him moving into his bedroom closet. Violet wondered if he's just losing interest. She writes it off as normal teenager stuff. Violet cares about finding Finch, she even tries to enlist the help of her parents who dislike him, but it's too late. Finch runs away from home, but his family doesn't care. No one's looking for him except for Violet, and Finch doesn't want to be found. “I know life well enough to know you can’t count on things staying around or standing still, no matter how much you want them to. You can’t stop people from dying. You can’t stop
When Miss Maudie and scout talk, scout brings up that her dad (Atticus) never acts diffferent when he is around his children and other people. A major difference from the Finch family to the Radely family
Atticus Finch’s wisdom and understanding of the human nature truly shows when he teaches us how to empathize. Atticus gives Scout and readers, a whole other way of seeing peoples perspective. Scout, who is upset that Miss Caroline put her “responsible” in explaining why Walter Cunningham cannot accept any money, complains to Atticus about that matter; saying she refuses to go to school. Atticus, who realizes that Scout is failing to understand things from Miss Caroline’s perspective says, “You never really understand someone....... until you crawl into his skin and walk around in it.”pg 33. Scout grapples with this idea of
didn't want him to because she believed that he would ruin the Finch name. It shows that in the
Finch’s Changes in All the Bright Places In the book, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, the main character, Theodore Finch, changed over the course of the book due to his struggle from bipolar disorder. Before Finch started realizing that there was something actually wrong with him, he had multiple good traits including being humorous about sensitive subjects, and considerate towards his mom. First, we start with Finch joking about suicide, “‘...
One of the first major discussions made by the characters in the novel is when Violet accepts Finch’s offer of becoming his project partner. Violet is an intelligent girl who has many friends and normally would not find herself near the delinquent Finch. On that morning, however, he stopped her from committing suicide off of the school’s bell tower, therefore she feels inclined to consider the offer. The risky choice of accepting proves to have a good outcome for her because it is with Finch that she learns how amazing life can be if you look hard enough for it. They go on multiple adventures together that are far outside where she's comfortable and Finch ends up changing her greatly as a person. Instead of going through the motions of life she decides to switch things up so that she actually likes where things are heading for her. Another choice that Violet makes in the novel is to begin driving in a car again which she does for the first time in a year with Finch. One year prior Violet's sister Eleanor died in a car accident by losing control of their vehicle and
Lee’s characterization of Atticus Finch as just and moral displays that considering events from another’s point of view can help people understand others’ prejudice, and negative actions. When Atticus’ daughter, Scout, is six years old, she attends school for the first time. Scout confides to her father about her first day of school during which she became upset. As any parent would, her father gave her some advice, “‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-...-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee
The Finch family is hopeful. Atticus has brought his children up by his values. The children, Jem and Scout, are taught to hope, by their father, Atticus. Both are impacted form the work Atticus has done, he has defended an African American. Jem learns from Atticus to never lose hope, and he does not lose hope throughout the novel. The children also show that there is hope in the future for people to be nonjudgmental. They did not understand how a jury could convict a man whom they knew was innocent and this was astonishing for them. Atticus explains to Jem that it has happened before and will happen again, sadly he also told them,"... when they do it - it seems that only the children weep...” (Lee, pg 232). Atticus is the wise one; he explains the problem to the children. He tells them that injustice will always happen. Atticus tells the children that bad things happen in the world, but only children find it hard to understand. The message of hope carries on in the book, is that despite her debut into the adult world, she avoids absorbing the prejudices of the community around her. Scout becomes our hope for a more tolerant future. However all hope is not lost in the end. As Scout realises that Boo is no one to dread and the two become friends, so too do we realise that the town can likewise learn to shed its bigotry and embrace its subject of unfound malice. Jem and Scout learnt that hope is always there, from there father, Atticus in the novel, To
The Finch kids demonstrate friendly and kind attitudes, showing no malice towards anyone, yet a wicked man attacks and injures them, do to his rotten view of justice. Walking home from the school one evening, Bob Ewell charges at Jem and Scout, attempting, most likely to kill them both. This situation reestablishes the sense of injustice among the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird. Two adolescent bodies and souls experience physical wounds, as well as mental shock, and crime committed against the children as well as the town of Maycomb. “My arms were beginning to tingle, and they were red with small hexagonal marks (Chapter 28). Scout’s injury’s shows the true violence of Bob’s attack and a violation of human morality. Bob Ewell committed a heinous act, and while the children did nothing wrong, they are unjustly hurt because of someone else’s lack of morals.
Life is a very long and emotional rollercoaster for the hundreds of students at Opportunity High School. But four kids got the bad end of it and got hit hard. These kids not only had to go through a school shooting but also had to face the gunman, a kid who went to Opportunity High previously named Tyler. He was also one of the siblings of the four people's perspective that told the story. In the novel The is Where it Ends the author feels that families deal with isolation, some more than other but they always find a way to get thought it.
Eventually Augusten’s parents divorce and entire life begins to take a completely different path. His mother begins to second guess her sexuality and sends Augusten to live with the Finch family so that she may set her life to the way that she wishes it to be. Augusten is introduced to an entirely new way of living life. Dr. Finch believes that at age 13 a person is an adult and cannot be told what to do anymore. As a result, there are many odd occurrences in the Finch household, such as Augusten and the youngest Finch daughter, Natalie removing the roof of the kitchen to build a skylight.
Finch gives Violet the flowers and she understands immediately what Finch was trying to say through the flowers. Later in the book when finch goes missing, Violet and her
Growing up happens during the magical times of freedom given to children in their early years. Wise parents discern when freedom is necessary for their children, are very clear about their expectations, and determine fitting consequences for actions out of line. Harper Lee personifies this role of a wise and caring parent in the father figure of her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch, a character made to mirror the author’s own father, is a lawyer and a well-respected citizen of his Southern Alabama town. Through Atticus, Harper Lee establishes a standard of good and evil, developing the theme of morality during his interactions. Atticus establishes right from wrong in most every relationship, especially with his children, his
From the beginning Violet Weston had a problematic life. At a young age Violet and her younger sister Mattie Fay lived in a very unshielded home. Her mother “was a nasty, mean old lady” (pg. 80) who in end Violet becomes the same. Violet was attack by one of her mother’s many male friends and her sister who has numerously came to her defense, yet again recused her from the attack. Violet and Mattie Fay stuck together through the difficult childhood. She had a difficult family life throughout her childhood. Even through the difficult times she managed to have successes. Violet become the first in her family to graduate high school. She
One particular warm summer day, just a few hours after noon in the “tired old town” of Maycomb, the Finch household was unusually quiet(6. Lee). So quiet you can hear a pin drop1. Atticus had gone out, the children were nowhere to be seen, and even Calpurnia was away visiting family claiming they could live a day without her. That left ”Aunt” Alexandra Hancock in the house all alone.
Lastly, Scout Finch is a very innocent young lady. Many things in the world are not known to her in full context, but she will eventually learn, and gain experience. An example of Scout’s innocence would be when she invited Walter Cunningham to dine with them. She observed how he poured syrup over his food and then asked him why he did so, followed by “But he’s gone and drowned his dinner in syrup” (Lee 32). She is then told by Calpurnia that you are not to comment on how other people eat. This is the transition from Innocence to Experience, and her innocence is