Swimming
One of the most frequent activities in the story is Eric’s swimming practice. Eric and his best friend Ellerby, always try to upstage fellow swimmer named Mark Brittain. This is the cause of much pain and grief and it shows that nobody is all good. Wouldn’t someone be even more humiliated if they were shown-up at an actual meet? One of the ways for Eric and his friend to get their anger out is to take everything out on Brittain.
Religion
I get so annoyed with all of the religious happenings in the book. I am not very religious but that does not mean that I will preach my beliefs onto others. If someone has a difference of opinion, I am okay with that as long as they don’t think they are the only right ones. Mark Brittain is always fighting with Mobe and Ellerby about religion. If Mark had such a need for his religion to be every other person’s around him; why didn’t he go to a private school.
I like that Chris Crutcher put in his novel that Mr. Mautz had a Christian cross in his office. I thought that he was trying to emphasis the fact that there are a lot of different opinions in the world. I think that a school employee should have a symbol of their religion hanging in their room. I do not think that in a public building, people should get to have that much freedom. I’m not saying that those are my beliefs but for their own sake. If I was flaunting my ideas that openly I think that I would offend and even upset some people.
Suicide
I know this is a hard topic to read about but because it a main event in the book. I feel it must be given some attention. I know it is a horrible thing to have someone you know try to commit suicide but the national average for high school students trying to commit suicide is about 17%. In
I would feel so horrible if I ever thought that someone tried to commit suicide because of me. That is how Eric and Ellerby feel after Mark had tried to take his life. I think the biggest reason is that Mark is always told that he must stick to his religion and be perfect. I think the stress just caught up with him and he cracked. Also there is the issue that everyone knows that he and his girlfriend got an abortion; even after he has been telling everyone that abortions are really bad.
2 comments:
I completely agree with you on religion. It just gets annoying to have everybody preaching their religion to each other and saying that only one is true and everyone else is wrong. Also, schools are funded by taxes. This makes them government institutions. That means that, because of the first amendment, it's illegal for Mautz to have a cross in his office. I think church and state should definitely be separated.
Yeah, if someone has their own opinion I don't care. But if they preach their thoughts and overlook all possibilities than that grinds my gears. I can't stand when people are so biased as to believe that they are the best and their thoughts count. I think it is all about what you believe. If your opinions don't match someone else's, than that is not a reason to break out in fight. Also, religion is the number one cause of all war in the world. It seems like people should be more tolerant of others.
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