My Friend, Chris Essay -- essays research papers

There are many people in this world who hold great reputations. There are far fewer people who posess great character. A reputation is built in just moments, and reflects what you do in front of people. Character, on the other hand, is built over years, and is reflected in what is unseen by others. Of all of my friends, one exemplifies great character more than any of the others. His name is Chris. Chris stands a little over 6 feet tall with thick, dirty blonde hair. His piercing blue eyes change color in the sunlight. He is very light complected, with a small amount of facial hair on the base of his chin. His long sideburns grow down the length of his ear. He is one of those adventurous guys who does things that I would never dream of doing. Realizing that life is short, his ambition is to make the most out of life that he possibly can. Chris has influenced me more than any other person on the campus. He did this by making me believe in who I really am.  « Always remember that life is what you make of it. You have the chance to become whatever you desire – it’s a gift that God gives you,  » he told me once.  «Some people spend their lives blaming others for their problems. Its far better to spend time and energy searching for answers -- instead of pointing fingers.  »   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of his great attributes is shown in the fact that he tries to cheer people up and make them laugh while they are experiencing great emotional stress or pain. He is known to play some great practical jokes on friends just to brighten their day. He once called a friend who was going through some personal problems and told him that he was being investigated by the Humane Society for animal cruelty. Chris even involved many of his fellow workers in the joke. Unfortunately, they forgot to tell the man that they were joking! Later that night, he remembered to explain to the man about the joke. Fearing that his friend would be upset, he sheepishly told him about his little endeavor. The man, instead of being angry, showed great relief. He even thanked Chris for what he did. The man said that it made him realize how unimportant his problems really were.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚ « I guess that I did go a little too far with that one,  « He said.  «But in the end, it all sort of worked out for the good -- thank God !  » While he has an incredible sense of humor, ... ...s of this world.  » This world is not his home, but a place where he can be a servant to those around him. Even during difficult times, he considers his weakness a strength.  « The Bible says that God’s grace is sufficient for us, because his strength is made perfect in weakness,  » he explained.  « I believe that God comes through for us when we can’t come through for ourselves. It gives God a chance to demonstrate the power of his great love.  » Because of such displays of true christian character, Chris has influenced me throughout my freshman year of college more than anyone else. He has made me learn that anyone can turn their life around -- if they would only rely on Jesus Christ and surrender their will to him. Chris believes that with all of his heart. Every once and a while, you meet one of those special people that you will remember throughout your entire life. These type of people are natural born leaders. They are builders, not of just brick and mortar, but of the human heart. They build you up when others tear you down. Just when you feel like giving up on society, someone does something that shows that there are still great people out there. Chris is one of those people.

Modern Drama Essay -- essays research papers

What is Realism? Realism is the movement toward representing reality as it actually is, in art. Realistic drama is an attempt to portray real life on stage, a movement away from the conventional melodramas and sentimental comedies of the 1700s. It is expressed in theatre through the use of symbolism, character development, stage setting and storyline and is exemplified in plays such as Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House and Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters. The arrival of realism was indeed good for theatre as it promoted greater audience involvement and raised awareness of contemporary social and moral issues. It also provided and continues to provide a medium through which playwrights can express their views about societal values, attitudes and morals. A Doll's House, for example, is the tragedy of a Norwegian housewife who is compelled to challenge law, society and her husband's value system. It can be clearly recognized as a realistic problem drama, for it is a case where the indivi dual is in opposition to a hostile society. Ibsen's sympathy with the feminine cause has been praised and criticized; as he requires the audience to judge the words and actions of the characters in order to reassess the values. For another example we can look within the text of Brian Friel’s play Translations. In this play we can see most, if not all of the characteristics of Realism. Let us dissect the show through the characters and touch on Friel’s usage of symbolism, character development, stage setting and storyline to see his connections with realism. Symbolism, â€Å"the term Symbolism means the systematic use of symbols or pictorial conventions to express an allegorical meaning. Symbolism is an important element of most religious arts and reading symbols plays a main role in psychoanalysis.† At the opening of the text, Manus one of the main players is teaching Sarah to speak. He is being very patient with her because he believes that it is very important to teach her to articulate, 'Come on, Sarah. This is our secret'. When we see how hard Sarah is finding it to speak English it makes us feel that she is the symbol for Ireland's backward positions on English, and English influence. Jimmy another character on the other hand, represents the educated civilized tradition of old Ireland. He is a scholar, however Sarah is the opposite. She is a contemporary Ireland, as she has no v... ... may or may not have occurred â€Å"kind of like the movie Titanic†, it is still feasible. The plot is based on the characters having multiple catharses. Love is realized and lost, importance of heritage is found and lost, and death occurs. Realism has had a profound effect on fiction from places as far-flung as Russia and the Americas. The novel, which had been born out of the romance as a more or less fantastic narrative, settled into a realistic mode which is still dominant today. Aside from genre fiction such as fantasy and horror, we expect the ordinary novel today to be based in our own world, with recognizably familiar types of characters endowed with no supernatural powers, doing the sorts of things that ordinary people do every day. It is easy to forget that this expectation is only a century and a half old, and that the great bulk of the world's fiction before departed in a wide variety of ways from this standard, which has been applied to film and television as well. Even comic strips now usually reflect daily life. Repeated revolts against this standard by various postmodernist and magical realist varieties of fiction have not dislodged the dominance of realism in fiction.

The Theme of Justice in The Crucible Essay -- The Crucible Arthur Mill

The Theme of Justice in The Crucible The crucible was set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The play is based on true facts about events that actually took place. It is about a small secluded town that relies strongly on their religion to keep them feeling safe. Their enemy is the devil and they are always scared of the devil and constantly looking for signs that the devil is there. â€Å"We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house.† The fear of the devil gets so strong the town’s justice system take strong actions to keep everyone safe. The paradox between justice and freedom is very unbalanced. The justice and courts are so strict none of the Salem people have their own personal freedom. Miller is questioning the fairness of the justice in Salem and that of the justice system in the US in the 50’s at the time he wrote the play. This is called an allegory. In the 50’s McCarthyism was the suppression of communism. Anyone accused of being a communist would be put into prison. Anyone who criticized the government was brought before the court and asked to name people they had seen at communist meetings. Arthur Miller did not agree with the system and wanted to get his views across. If he wrote a play about Senator McCarthy and his justice systems faults then he would have been arrested and the play would not have been shown. He made the play about the witchcraft in Salem to cover up his true meaning whilst being a polemic teaching people of the corruption in the justice system. The characters in Salem all represent people from the US in the 50’s. The Judges represent the Senators. Miller makes them disliked by the audience by showing the unfairness of thei... ...itute in Boston† To make people feel there is justice as Abby got what she deserved and people finally saw through her and she revealed the truth to what she really was. Miller states that Paris was voted out of office. This was also what happened to Senator McCarthy they both were causing injustice and in the end were both expelled. This means that they have got their justice. The audience is most concerned if John gets his justice. He does because the audience can all see that he is a good man and he becomes a hero to anyone watching the play. The characters in the play don’t celebrate him as a hero but from everyone watching he is praised. This means his message of following your own sense of right and wrong is received my hundreds of people. This is how John gets his justice and how miller restores people’s faith in the goodness of humanity.

Electoral Systems Essay

Critically evaluate the argument that electoral systems can produce effective (decisive) government, or representative government, but not both. New Zealand’s current electoral system is MMP or Mixed Member Proportional; this is the system which will be used to evaluate the question. A comparison of MMP and FPP or the First Past the Post system will also be included, since it is being debated as to which is better for New Zealand. MMP is an appropriately representative government which also creates a rather effective government at the same time. On the other hand FPP causes a seemingly effective government but is far less representative. Some electoral systems can create effective and representative government while others may not. This will be shown by; firstly detailing how these systems of governance compare under effectiveness and representativeness, followed by an explanation as to why electoral systems can be both effective and representative and why they cannot. For a government to be classified effective it must sufficiently achieve its objectives as a governing body. It also must create a strong impression on the community (dictionary. om, 2011). MMP tends to have a less efficient form of law making than FPP. Under MMP the major parties must form coalition governments with the smaller parties to form a fifty per cent majority over the house. These coalitions may cause a time delay in passing legislation, as the major supporter of the bill tries to convince their support parties to agree with the legislation. MMP may take time to make decision but this doesn’t mean that the government is less decisive although; Many people argue that proportional forms of government lead to a less decisive and durable government. Their argument is based on the fact that the decisions must gain the support of coalition parties which cause a lower quantity of bills passing. However it is not the quantity of laws which cause an effective government it is the quality. MMP due to its more timely approach to law making allows time for scrutiny within a bill meaning any flaws which lie dormant in a bill may be fixed before the legislation is passed. A contrast to this is FPP with its single party majority which works very efficiently to pass laws rapidly. This is because there is no need for a compromise with its support parties since none are required. The effect of this rapid law making ability gives the community a view of effectiveness however the validity of the laws has been compromised. The laws passed may be riddled with flaws which really show the government is un-effective as the laws have no real impression on the community. Effective government is based around three criteria government durability, decisional efficacy and responsiveness (Boston, Church & Bale, 2003). From these three different terms of effective government we can see how different opinions on the idea of effective government can differ. For a government to be classified representative it must consist of many individuals who represent a variety of different constituencies (dictionary. com, 2011). Also there must be some form of diversity among the constituencies such as race or gender differentiation. (Royal Commission, 1986) MMP is a highly representative form of governance as it uses a two votes system; this allows minor party representatives to gain a seat in the house if they gain a majority vote among their constituents. The fact an MP has to win their constituency causes a close link to the electorate as they will more likely than not represent the major view of the region. This single MP vote allows the house to represent the community from a broader aspect while still having the majority party in power with the 2nd vote, the party vote. This causes a greater diversity among the house. When MMP was adopted â€Å"Maori representation increased from 5-7% to 16%† and â€Å"the number of women of women doubled to 34%† (Haddon, 2011). This increasing diversity has continued as the royal commission predicted. New Zealand’s house of parliament has become more representative and diverse as shown by the 39 women, 21 Maori, 4 Pacific Islanders, and 2 Asian MPs out of the 121 in the house (Elections Commission, 2006). Also under MMP campaign promises of minor parties tend to not get placed on the new government agenda. The minor parties must rely on negotiation with party leaders in order to get their main policies on the agenda or must wait for the bill to be drawn from the ballot box in parliament, which may never come. This causes a slight decrease in the diversification of the legislation passed. This lack of diversification can decrease the representativeness of the majority. However this does not decrease the overall representativeness of the government. The diversity of MMP is contrasted by FPPs system where there are only electorate votes so people tend to vote solely for the major parties that are likely to get into parliament. The winning party in a FPP election will get a proportionally larger share of the seats that its share of the votes this has the opposite effect for minority parties whom gain a lesser proportion of the seats that their votes. This lack of proportionality is a major flaw in representation as there is very little diversity among the house. Electoral systems can be both effective and representative, â€Å"The best voting system for any country will not be one which meets any of the criteria completely but will be one which provides the most satisfactory overall balance between them† (Royal Commission, 1986). Although systems cannot be highly representative and highly effective they still can be both. MMP shows this, it may not be highly efficient at creating effective legislation but it creates quality legislation which is effective governing. Also MMP shows its representativeness by having a largely diverse house of representatives but due to the need for coalitions loses some of the broader views of the minor parties. â€Å"A proliferation of minor parties actually increases stability and effectiveness† (â€Å"NRT on MMP threshold,† 2011). This shows how a representative government actually helps to form an effective government. The increase in the number of coalition majorities available will help to reduce the ability for any party to have strong bargaining power over another. This was shown in our most recent parliamentary election by ACT and the Maori party not having a large bargaining power with National as they both had possible coalitions with National. They were acting as a check on the other so neither gained an arbitrary power over Nationals decision. This allowed for national to make what they saw as the best decision. This shows that MMP is representative as well as being effective even if it is not top in each discipline. Many critics of MMP have agreed that MMP does lead to a government reflecting the views of New Zealander’s and supporters of MMP conceded to agreeing that it leads to a more unstable government which can infer that it may be not highly effective (Palmer & Palmer, 2004). While FPP contrasts MMP it shows the opposite idea. It shows that there is a tension between effective and representative government. This tension causes a highly representative government to have a very low effectiveness and vice versa. The tension has large effect on how the government operates and this can put a strain on which system will be best. FPP shows how a system cannot be both effective and representative whereas MMP seems to have the balance between being both an effective form of governance while still being rather highly representative. My research has shown that MMP is both an effective form of government and a representative form of government. However it is neither the most representative nor the most effective. The research has identified that an electoral system can be both as I have explained above. This is not to say all electoral systems are. There are always going to be strengths and weaknesses to an electoral system and a compromise between effective and representative will always be required, FPP for example is much more effective than it is representative. The tension between these two disciplines will always have an effect on how the system operates and which system is best suited to the situation. FPP is clearly a system which cannot be both while MMP is the perfect example of a system of governance which is both representative and effective.

Cell phones How have they changed us socially? Essay

Filed under Fall 2013, Story Cycle 4, Features, Opinion, Showcase The short URL of the present article is: http://lhslance.org/bKUbA We live in a world where communication through modern technology is almost required. Everywhere people are texting, emailing, writing blogs and tweeting. It’s hard to go anywhere without seeing someone using a phone or the Internet to connect with others. Can you imagine not being able to check your Twitter, Facebook or messages for a week? We would feel lost. Of course the use of technology can be good. It provides us with faster, more efficient ways to communicate with others, but it can also harm our ability to communicate with people face to face. Many complain that our new digital skills impact our ability to write properly. We look old fashioned on paper. â€Å"i nede to ask a?† Read our ad policy â€Å"Cell phones have changed communication because now, instead of friends actually having a face to face conversation, they text each other. This is bad because intent become misinterpreted, which can lead to ‘drama’ and friendship problems. The use of cell phones has affected me because whenever I am in a situation, instead of trying to make a conversation I resort to my cell phone,† Junior Taylor Strahan said. How the message is sent can determine many additional factors as to how the message is interpreted by the receiver. All new information we learn is compared with the knowledge we already have. If it confirms what we already know, we will likely receive the new information accurately, though we may pay little attention to it. If it disputes our previous assumptions or interpretation of the situation, we may distort it in our mind so that it is made to fit our world view, or we may dismiss the information as deceptive, misguided, or simply wrong. For example, if two people are involved in an escalated conflict, and they each assume that the other is going to be aggressive and hostile, then any  ambiguous message will be interpreted as aggressive and hostile, even if it was not intended to be that way at all. Our expectations work as blinders or filters that distort what we see so that it fits our preconceived images of the world. According to pewinternet.org, â€Å"a bit more than a third (37%) of social network-using teens said they sent messages to friends every day through the social sites, a drop from the 42% of such teens who said they did so in February of 2008†. Face- to -face communication among children and teenagers is being squashed out by social networks. A phone call isn’t used to get in touch with someone anymore; Facebook and Twitter are the main tools of communication. The consequences of this are social awkwardness and even social anxiety when confronted with new people to meet in person. A study was done by pewinternet.org among teenagers on social networks, and the amount of communication among teenagers on social networks, and the amount of communication by social network has remained steady. Studies show that homework is interrupted and children become distracted when they receive notifications of a new chat messages, texts, or emails. â€Å"Good communication is important because when we are adults and applying for interviews, we won’t know how to have proper communication, which can result in not getting the job. Another thing is kids are so focused on social networking on our phones that we spend less time on school work which causes bad grades. In the future when applying for college, they won’t accept us because we have bad grades and that is due to cell phone use,† Strahan added. 7 Texting has, in many ways, made communication easier by helping people avoid long, unpleasant phone conversations and making a quick â€Å"Hello† much easier. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of teenagers text regularly, and one in three sends more than 100 texts per day. Clearly, texting is the preferred method of communication among young people, and that trend is moving upward toward adults, who are also texting much more frequently. Studies have shown that it makes it difficult for students who rely so heavily on technology to actually communicate to adults in person because they don’t quite develop all of the necessary skills to hold or even start a face-to-face conversation. However, these skills are a crucial tool in the workforce. If you want a high paying, stable job, or possibly even to be admitted to a university, you must have good face-to-face communication skills. If you lack these specific skills you most likely won’t even make it  throu gh the interview. â€Å"Teens are in the stage of their life where they’re learning so if you don’t learn to have good communication skills, then when you become an adult you will have a harder time asking for help, being proactive with things in your life,† said reading specialist Mrs. Tracey Cassidy. Students who are constantly texting with abbreviated forms of words have begun to speak with the same acronyms. The now everyday uses of â€Å"LOL† and â€Å"OMG† have become substitutions for actual emotional responses in conversations. This form of talking is often seen as flighty and uneducated. They’re not only speaking in abbreviated ways but they are also beginning to become distracted during conversations. While texting, it is easy to jump from topic to topic when an idea comes to mind. However, this is causing many students to become unfocused and sidetracked during face to face conversations. â€Å"I think that some cell phones have opened up communication for teens 100% because that’s how they communicate with their friends, parents, with their school work. I think it’s fantastic, and that’s what they really rely on, so it is good but some negatives are their communication skills are not as strong as they should be, like talking to other people,† Cassidy added. â€Å"When I was a teen we did not have cell phones or computers. I had a telephone in my room (which was a big deal) it was attached to the wall with a long cord and was then attached to a base so I couldn’t walk around the house and talk on the phone. I had to say in my room for privacy. Before I got my own phone I would use the phone in the kitchen, I would stretch the phone cord as far as I could and then go into a closet for privacy,† parent Barbara Dempster said. â€Å"Communication is a way for people to connect with each other and form relationship. It is also a way to gather information from others. I like the variety of ways that people can communicate and keep in touch with one another. I do feel that the importance of face- to- face communication has been impacted by the use of cell phone and texting vs. talking on the phone,† Dempster added. We have become a society that is completely dependent on our technology to communicate with others. It’ s almost impossible for us to maintain our social life without using some sort of modern-day technology to communicate. â€Å"In terms of communication, it is harder for teens to communicate face to  face with people with maybe teachers, because they’re so used to doing it via email. Sometimes it’s good, meaning if you don’t like a grade you have, you can email the teacher saying you have concerns about your grade. Where if you don’t have an email, you have to talk to your teacher about the grade you don’t like and you might be nervous and uncomfortable because it’s your teacher,† Cassidy said. â€Å"I would tell teens that there is a time and place for texting and there is a time when you need to have a conversation either face to face or over the telephone,† said Dempster. â€Å"Texting is great when you need to find out information quickly – Are you still coming over? Do you want a soda? Where are you?† Dempster believes other situations require face- to -face like, â€Å"When you are joking and it may be difficult for the oth er person to sense your humor or sarcasm, communication with a teacher or adult. When telling your parents you did something wrong,† Dempster said. According to Pew Research Center, â€Å"As technology continues to improve, the use of cell phones continues to change drastically. The increase over the last ten years has been incredible and the way we use our phones to stay connected and informed continues to change.† â€Å"The average American smartphone user spent nearly 30 minutes a day checking or updating social networks. The way we use cell phones has changed drastically over the last year. Once upon a time, we used cell phones to make calls while we were away from our homes. Recent studies show that we may be migrating away from our primary use of the phone to more of a texting and mobile web device.† Research from www.accuconference.com states that in 2012 †¢53% of adults own a smartphone. †¢42% of people have used their phone for entertainment when they are bored. †¢51% of users used their cell phone at least once to get information. †¢27% said they had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone. †¢29% turn off their phones to take a break from their digital life at night. This article is not to say that mobile phones should be banned due to their many negative aspects. It depends upon us whether we use this technology for our progress and prosperity or for our destruction. No doubt, mobile phone is the best innovation of this era but people should use it in a positive sense.

Friendship Essay

What Makes a Good Friend? Friendships are vital to a person’s life. Although, people have quality requirements that they look for in the â€Å"perfect† friend. There really isn’t the one â€Å"perfect† friend out there that everyone is looking for. They come in all shapes and sizes and each and everyone of them have a different personality with their own faults and imperfections. They are people we associate to having a good time with and, or being sad with. But what makes a true good friend? Qualities that make a good friend are loyalty, trust, and reliability.A quality that makes a good friend is their degree of loyalty to you. A loyal friend will want to be around you. They will make an effort to be with you, and calls you to say hello when you can’t be together. For instance, if your friend is meeting other people at the movie theater, they will call and invite you to go along as well. If you go away for a vacation, your friend will tell you how much they are excited for you to return home. A loyal friend will pull their own weight in your relationship.Leaving everything up to one person in a friendship isn’t fair. They will help you plan times when you will get together, or events so other people can join as well. They will contribute to sharing phone calls between the two of you, instead of making you do all the calling. Another attribute that makes a friend loyal is a possible understanding of an event you have gone through. Having a friend that relates to events in your life is very comforting because they know how you feel or had felt.For example, if you lost a grandparent that was very close to you and your friend did as well, they can relate to your feelings which will make them feel more attached and loyal to you, and you to them. Another quality found in a good friend is their reliability. A trait of a reliable friend is how honest they are with you. If they are completely honest with you, then you can coun t on them in the future. Honesty is a key quality in a true friendship. A reliable friend keeps their promises.They do what they tell you they were going to do instead of doing something else. For example, when they tell you that they are going home and that they don’t want to hang out, they actually go home instead of going out with other friends. Another trait of a reliable friend is how encouraging they are for you. When you doubt yourself about your greatest dreams, they encourage you not to give up on them and remind you that you can do anything you want to. They tell you to shoot for the skies, and that the sky is the limit to what you are able to do in your life.They remind you of who you are and what you stand for when you forget, or when you are going through a rough time. They continuously let you know that you are special in their life and that they would miss you if you weren’t in it. A very important quality to look for in a friend is trust. Some people ca n seem very trustworthy but turn out not to be as you get to know them. A trustworthy friend tells you just about anything. If they trust you, they will confide in you their deepest secrets.For example, they will tell you who they have a crush on, or possibly dangerous things that you might be able to help them with such as substance addictions or other fatal problems. A trustworthy friend will tell you about relationship problems and ask advice that they wouldn’t with their parents or even another friend. They might even give you relationship advice if you need it. In other words, if your friend is in an abusive relationship, they would share as much as they wanted with you and possibly ask your advise about what they should do even if it is hard to hear.Another trait that makes a trustworthy friend compassionate they are. If your friend does something to hurt you, they own up to it and apologize. With all of this being said, a true friend is someone to count on in times of need, someone to have a good time with whenever, and someone to talk to about absolutely anything without being judged or misunderstood. Loyalty, trust, and reliability are three major qualities to look for in a true friend. Once you have found that one â€Å"perfect† friend for yourself, they will be around forever and always have your back.

Discuss Nick Hornby s presentation of Marcus in chapters 1-10 of ‘About a Boy’ Essay

Nick Hornby’s novel, ‘About a boy’ is a story about two boys. A 12 year old, named Marcus, who has a suicidal mother. And a 36 year old child-like-man called Will Freeman. Will, has never worked in his life, he was been living of the royalties of a song that his father had wrote for Christmas, over 70 years ago. Marcus is very much a ‘mummy’s boy.’ He is so close to his mother that his taste in music and clothes are identical. When he starts his new school, he realises that he is an easy target for bullies as his hair is cut ‘dodgy’ by his mum and he has a tendency to sing aloud in class†¦. When we see Marcus in chapter one, we see a naive teenager. On the very first page of the book, Marcus’ mum Fiona suffers from a break up. â€Å"Have you spilt up now?† This very quote shows the naivete of Marcus. This childish questions, suggest that Marcus has not developed any level of maturity and has no means of comforting his mother. However, with this in mind, Marcus has a very logical way of thinking, and there are there are two valid reasons for this bold statement. When we do see the break up incident, Marcus realises that when people begin to do things together (almost like a family) they should gel and stay together. â€Å"He’d once shared a toilet with Roger, when they were both busting for a pee after a car journey. You’d think that if you’d peed with someone you ought to keep in touch with them somehow.† This logical thinking by Marcus suggest that he had thought about future with his mum and Roger, and that Roger would stay because of the family relationship that they all shared. The second reason why I believe he has a logical process is the pizza incident happens. When the break up argument began, they had just orders three pizzas. As we know Marcus and Fiona are ‘vegetarians’, but Roger wasn’t, so one of the pizza contained peperoni. â€Å"We’ll throw it away then?† Fiona suggests, but Marcus being Marcus, he promotes that they should â€Å"Pick the peperoni off.† This suggests that instead of throwing away a perfectly good pizza, Marcus thinks that they can still eat the pizza without the peperoni topping. Although Marcus is still very naive, we see a very different side of Marcus on the very past page of chapter 1. He is very protective of his mum. When they have fished eating and arguing, Marcus finds the TV remote and â€Å"Zapped through the channels. He didn’t want to watch any of the soaps, because soaps were full of trouble, and he was worried that the trouble in the soaps would remind his mum of the trouble she had in her own life.† This quote suggests that because of his mother’s break up’s and troubles, he did not want the TV reminding her of anything, which really shows how protective he is over his mother. Marcus has just moved house, which unfortunately means he starts a new school. In the first few chapters, we see life for Marcus in school, and it wasn’t going to be easy. He is different from his peers. There times in the book, which really shows how apart he is from everyone. Firstly, he arrives for school. EARLY. Not a typical act from a teenager. â€Å"He got to school early, went to the form room, sat down at his desk.† This is one of vey first examples, of why he is very different. Not many teenagers would willingly want to come to school early. The way he dresses, and the way he looks is another issue. â€Å"He was usually wearing the wrong shoes or the wrong trousers, and his haircut was wrong all the time.† This would mean that he would be an easy target for bullies. However, worst is still to come. â€Å"A song had slipped out yesterday during English.† When he had an English lesson, Marcus unexpectedly sang a song whilst the teacher was reading. As a kid, this really ‘sealed the deal’ for Marcus. Luckily, Marcus had found a few friends who were also outsiders like him. They were Nicky and Mark. Marcus meet them by an after school computer club. However, their relationship with each other was very timid. â€Å"He was being left out deliberately† Marcus was waiting his turn on the Gameboy, at this point in the book. Although he hasn’t done anything wrong, he was still singled out. Suddenly, things to a turn for the worse for their relationship. At lunchtime, a few bullies, who had been tormenting Marcus before, came up to Marcus and his friends, and began insulting them. When they had gone, Mark spoke out and said. â€Å"Marcus, we don’t want you hanging around with us anymore.† This shocked Marcus. He knew that if they were to hang out with him, they would all get bullied. These so called ‘friends’ that Marcus had, had been unsupportive and nothing like Marcus. This shows how different Marcus really is; he cannot fit in with people who are so similar to him. As have mentioned before, Marcus is overprotective over his mum, because of their closeness and the strong relationship they have. In the fifth chapter, we see Marcus worrying about his mother. This is caused by the constant crying habit his mom has developed. This had frightened him. â€Å"One Monday morning his mother started crying before breakfast, and it frightened him.† In this scenario in the book, Marcus understands that his mum is going through a tough time but he does not know what to say or do. â€Å"He didn’t know what to say.† So instead, when we went for his weekly shop, he stuck to the ‘economy sized packets of cereal, because he knew that is he had brought banded name, then his mum would be angry. This again shows how protective he is over his mum. With this in mind, he had realised that there was â€Å"an advantage of her terrible depression.† Without her knowing he bought the branded ‘Coco-Pops.† This shows that he was still taking advantage out of his mother’s sadness. In the final few page of chapter 7 we see an intense moment between Marcus and Fiona. Marcus finally confronts Fiona about her constant depression and the fact the she hasn’t been looking after him. â€Å"All you do is make my meals and I could do that. The rest of the time you just cry. That’s†¦ that’s no good. That’s no good to me.† This shows that Fiona does not know how to look after a child. However, Marcus does not help or resolve the matter; instead he heads off to his room. â€Å"He went upstairs to his room and played NBA Basketball with the earphones on.† This shows a level of immaturity and a certain lack of social skill. Fiona claims that â€Å"we’re not doing each other any good† to Marcus. This again is more evidence to prove that Fiona simply cannot look after Marcus. When we see Will in chapter eight, he describes Marcus as being â€Å"the weird kid.† Will thinks this about Marcus because of the way he acts. For example, when they were at the back of a car together, Marcus began ‘humming tunelessly’. This would not be a normal act performed by a teenager, and this led Will into believing he is strange. There is more evidence for Will to believe Marcus is weird. â€Å"‘You know Michael Jackson, right? He makes a million pounds a minute,’ said the weird kid.† When Marcus said this, Will thought he was making things up, which again led Will to believing he is weird. At the park, Marcus accidently killed a duck in the lake. In this part of the book, Marcus changes his mind about Will in a matter of minutes, from despising him, and then realising that he was one his side. â€Å"Who did this Will think he was?† Will was trying to be sarcastic about the matter, but Marcus, did not find it funny. Then, all of a sudden â€Å"Marcus looked up at him; maybe he didn’t hate him after all.† Will then made the incident look like it had affected them in front of the park-keeper. Marcus had changed his view about him, in a flash, without him doing anything. All of this suggests that Marcus has mixed opinions on will, on moment he is the hero, and the next he is just a stranger, In chapter nine, we sadly see a suicide attempt from Fiona. The events leading up to this moment, is very intense. On the day of the suicide attempt, Marcus is at Regent Park for a picnic with Suzie and Will. Whilst Will and Suzie were talking, Marcus was feeding the ducks, with loaf hard bread that Fiona had made, he had then accidently thrown the whole loaf in to the lake and a killed a duck. Hence the ‘Dead duck day.’ All of a sudden Marcus could see Fiona across the lake waving and smiling at him, he turned around to tell Suzie but when he looked back she was gone. â€Å"It was then that Marcus saw-or thought he saw-his mum. She was standing in front of them, blocking the path, and she was smiling. He waved and turned around to tell Suzie that she’d turned up, but when he looked back his mum wasn’t there.† This part of the book is based on symbolism. I think it represents symbolism because there is a link between what happened with the Dead duck and the fact that she was there, meant that it was a way of saying bye to Marcus. It was almost like a premonition for Marcus, that something was about to happen. â€Å"A new part of his life began, bang, without any warning at all.† When I saw this part in the book, it really surprised me. I wasn’t aware of how Fiona was so depressed, that caused her to a terrible act like this. As a reader, I would say that Fiona’s depressions was only recognised as just her crying most the time, I was not sure she would have gone to that greater length, and commit suicide. It is obvious that Marcus was hit hard by the fact that his mother had committed suicide. At the end of chapter nine, it reads â€Å"he knew the moment he walked in that it was something he’d have to think about forever.† At this point in the book, we see Marcus’ character really open out. This continues as we read on. When they reach the hospital, Marcus is in the waiting room, reflecting on other people troubles and compares this to his mum. â€Å"My mum’s not like these people. Supposing they think she is, though?† he believes that the hospital might treat her as being just a normal druggy.