Simon Says journal

[¿ Jesse Pawman ?]

Ok folks. I'm suppose to turn this thing into my English class when I get back from Christmas break and I just want to get your input on it before I turn it in. This is suppose to be a journal entry (but I sorta turned it into an analytical paper). Please comment. The story is called Simon Says and is written by Elaine Marie Alphin. ok. here goes.


        First of all, this novel can not be analyzed without a little background information on Charles Weston, the main character of this novel.  Charles Weston was born to overprotecting parents.  He has always had a non-conformist ideology through his life.  When his first grade teacher told him to draw flowers, he drew flowers.  However, he drew flowers better than everyone else in his class including the teacher, and he got scolded for it.  His teacher told him to draw them like everyone else. Simon says draw cartoony flowers like everyone else.  Incidences like this appear throughout the novel.
   Charles read a book called The Eye Of the Storm and wanted to meet the high school aged author, Graeme Brandt (a very peculiar spelling of a simple name, suggesting his belief in being different).  Once Charles found out where Graeme went to school, he wanted to go meet him.  Graeme attended Whitman School, located in Houston, Texas.  This is where this novel takes place.
   Greame (or Grey as his friends referred to him as) is a writer who grew up in a “Simon says” world, just like Charles.  His New York Times reviewed novel was written while he was in high school.  The novel, The Eye Of the Storm was about a high school teenager trying to find his place in the world.  Grey also kept a journal which was viewable by the reader.  It should be noted that Grey was possibly questioning his sexuality (as his journal mentions his attraction toward a former schoolmate, Ben, and eventually toward Charles).
   Charles had a hard time showing his paintings to the world.  He didn’t have enough courage to do it.  Grey published one novel (and eventually another one posthumously).  Charles’ roommate, Adrian, had one of his music compositions performed in front of a live audience.  So why can’t Charles show his artwork to the world?  He was scared that people will hate him for it (because he’s better) until the suicide of Grey and a ‘wake up’ moment from Adrian convinced him that everything will be fine to show and eventually sell his artwork.  Adrian said, “Pretty soon you’re not asking ‘how can I [play for them] any longer,’ but ‘who else can I play it for?”  Charles later responded,  “I promise I will find the courage to show my paintings, and I will use them to inspire people to change this world of expectations that made Graeme believe he had no choice but to kill himself…I promise them all…but most of all, I promise myself.”
   Charles drew a sketch of Grey that really upset Grey.  Charles apologized and eventually had Grey look at his artwork.  Grey got this idea for his second book by a painting done by Charles.  The novel was just about to be published when Charles received the news that Grey had a heart attack, which incidentally was actually suicide.  Charles was devastated so much that he blamed himself for the death.  Charles murdered Grey as he thought.  [Please read the goodbye letter sent to Charles after Grey’s death on the attached pages].
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   This novel is full of connections to the Transcendentalism movement of the 1800s.  Charles, Adrian, and Grey were all non-conformists; not wanting to play the game of Simon Says.  Simon says…be like everyone else.  Simon says…do things like everyone else does.  Simon says…be right handed.  Simon says…be normal (who wants to be normal? That would be boring).  They did not do what society such as their parents and teachers wanted them to do.  Grey’s parents wanted him to be either a lawyer or an engineer.  He wanted to do what he wanted to do.  “You can’t just copy something.  You have to make it your own somehow, and paint that.” 
   However, there has to be some sort of balance of influence and individuality in life.  Charles stated,  “ I think we need lots of Simons offering lots of different opinions.  If someone who isn’t sure of himself only hears one Simon saying what to do,  then he’ll do it.  But if he hears a lot of them, then he’s forced to choose the option that feels right, and he’ll start to find himself.” 
   It’s ironic that the school’s name is Whitman, and the other main character is a story writer.  Another connection to Transcendentalism was that Adrian was the openly gay character.  He had no shame in his sexuality and asked, “Do we chose who we are, or are we born that way?”  He wasn’t pretending to be what the rest of the world wants him to be.  “People think what they want [to think].” 
   I chose this book because I have had great success with other novels written by Elaine Marie Alphin.  Counterfeit Son, a novel about a child who was kidnapped, raped, tortured by digging graves of other children and had amnesia, was another fantastic novel with similar and broader messages and concepts.  Simon Says digs deeper into the thought of ‘being yourself’ and ‘non-conformist’ ideas that Counterfeit Son expresses.  Mrs. Alphin’s way of words and messages have a way of digging into you and tearing you apart, then leaving you wondering about the book for days after you‘ve finished reading it..  As usual, I was impressed by a work of Mrs. Alphin. 

[Arilys DuskFlare]

That blew me away.. I don't know what to say.. (sorry, not much help, I know..)

[Somebody]

Fascinating read there Jesse, well written and informative. I guess you can't ask for much more then that.

[Dr. Strange]

Wow... You took a paper and turned it into just short of your own thing, Jesse. It's really good.