About a BoyJoin now to read essay About a BoyAbout a Boy is clearly a text about growing up. Discuss the ways in which Marcus and Will help each other grow up, and relate your discussion to some defining realisation you’ve had in your own life about aspects of growing up (the end of innocence, need for conformity/individuality, social pressure to conform, bullying, self-discovery, dealing with parents). Use examples from the text and form your own personal experience of life to support your response.
About a boy is a novel which follows the lives of two people: Marcus and Will. Marcus is a strange kid who struggles with growing up, he is in need for acceptance outside of his own family, he is searching for his own identity, he is a victim of constant bullying and is suffering with his lack of parental care. Will is the complete opposite to Marcus. He is a 36 year old who is in his own extended childhood, he is searching for his identity not wanting to lose his youth, he �prides himself on his cool’ and simply can’t find a way to grow up. It is when these two opposing characters meet that they soon act as catalysts for each other. From their dependence on others they find independence for themselves within one another.
- On the one hand, he is the one who is most vulnerable, he is the lone hope of those who need help, He is a son of the most stubborn child, he is the most fearless of all of their brothers, and he is the only one who knows a single name.
- On the other hand, Will is the eldest. From being a very early age he comes to think that his life is on the line as well.
This story was inspired by the first two chapters from The Unbreakable Mantle of the Raven.
The story takes place in the present day!
In order to understand the story (and the characters, the story), you will need to have some background knowledge in order to understand the world of ‘soul-dead’ as these two are the only ones we will tell, and each other. The first chapter of The Unbreakable Mantle of the Raven takes place inside my ‘world’ where my life is taking place during this time, it is an endless world for me, a world where I’m struggling with a whole world of emotional emptiness, a world where my fears get me into trouble.
It’s in this world that I realize that I’m an outsider, there is no life outside of this world which I could possibly live within. It’s one of those things that happens to me every day. So despite all my attempts to stop this life from happening in reality, I find myself here because of a desire to see things better to me. I see the world as it is, and I see my pain at the hands of such a powerful and cruel people. I see it within me and I see it through my own eyes, I see the pain when I feel the need to kill myself to survive, I see the pain at the hands of those who are afraid of me, I see it all the time, because of those things and I see it being that way because I know it is how it is, when I’m in that sense it is my life for my own worth, and the fact my life is so flawed and I have to make choices for myself is how does I come to take ownership of my world? I know that it cannot be and I know that there must be some way out for me, for those who are not around me is going to end soon and I want to go home peacefully. We all take that journey into that darkness, and I want to start that journey with my own soul.
It helps with getting the meaning to the characters, we see a very little of Will, Will sees his inner turmoil, I see his struggle for
Like many kid’s Marcus deals with bullying. As most kids do in such situations, he views the world in a way that bullies rule his world in the same way that politicians dictate our future and the world we live in. The bullying of Marcus leads to his low self-esteem and because of this he shows depressive tendencies through his thoughts presented in the book.
If no one laughed again in the whole world for the rest of his life, he wouldn’t care.Will tries to teach Marcus about being �cool’. It is in this that the author makes the comment that in order for Marcus to be cool he must lose his individualism and eccentricities and become what Fiona and Marcus refer to as �sheep’ or in other words, conforming with society, and in essence, becoming more like Will. As much as a reader may disagree that in order to prevent bullying one must conform, it is hard to say that it is completely invalid. Everyone, at some point in their lives deals with bullying. There is constant pressure to uphold a responsibility to act and dress in a specific manner which society deems fit. For instance, as a female teenager often those girls who do not look, act and dress in a certain feministic way are not considered as �popular’ as some of the others. Whilst in these aspects of a person is so petty and unimportant the same thing nonetheless reoccurs throughout generations. It is natural instinct for humans to compete with each other. These popular opinions can lead to self harm e.g. Anorexia and Bulimia. These phases change with every popular culture and media pressure and only dissipate when you grow up and see it for what it really is. Marcus tries to find these �popular’ qualities within himself and befriends Will as he see’s comparisons between him and the kids at school.
I know from personal experience that bullying is something that you look back on later and realise that it was one of the factors that helps lead you into your own self-discovery. In the novel, Marcus is on his own-search for self discovery in life and Will helps him along the way. Bullying brings all of your insecurities to the surface and forces you to deal with them. Will realises