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Nineteen Minutes Essay

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The novel Nineteen Minutes, written by Jodi Picoult was published in 2007. This book takes the setting of Sterling, an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens, until the day this safe haven is shattered by violence. It is said in the novel that, “In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five. In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it” (Picoult 5). The novel was written eleven years ago and portrays the life of average Americans as it is today, and the constant issues of school shootings that the authorities and families are often …show more content…

The most destructive character in the book is Peter, the school shooter. The mother of Peter is a woman named Lacy, who has close ties to Alex, because she delivered her baby, Josie. Growing up as young children, Peter and Josie were very close friends and stuck together. Peter was constantly bullied by the other boys, and Josie would stick up for him. As Peter and Josie began to get older, Josie began distancing herself from Peter, and moving towards the “cool crowd”. Josie becomes only concerned with the popular kids and ends up loosing herself in the processes. Throughout the novel, this is seen to take a toll on her mental health. The book says, “To be truly popular, it has to look like something you are, when in reality, it's what you make yourself” (Picoult 241). Josie begins to drastically change, and when high school comes around, Peter has lost his only friend, who he had loved dearly. This leads Peter into an even darker tunnel of depression. Peter saw no way out of the constant bullying, loss of his best friend, and depression. Peter decides to take matters into his own hands and murders ten people at his

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