Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 9:35 PM
Change is inevitable but don't let it control you
Book read:Home of The Braves by David KlassQuick Summary- Joe Brickman is the captain of the Lawndale High School soccer team and he is in his senior year. He, however, has no plans for college and hopes to work in his father's carwash for a living. Rich, good-looking and soccer-talented Antonio Silva is a new transfer student who turns down Joe's invitation to the soccer team simply because he looks down on them. There are two sides of the country, Lawndale and Bankside. Years ago, they were at loggerheads with each other. Now, as past animosities are awakened and Antonio charms the girl of Joe's life, Joe has to find the courage to step up to all these changes and take charge of his own life.
When I compare my own life with that of Joe's, I feel a great sense of sympathy. I know how it feels to be surrounded by so many changes and the frustrations of being unable to deal with it. Like so many things in life, chenge is inevitable. You cannot just ask everyone to stay as they are and let you enjoy a peaceful life. Change brings about challenges that you never thought you would ever, ever face in your life before. When I stepped into HwaChong, I tried to stick to old friends and thought that it would last forever. I was wrong. It just seemed to slip out of my grasp. I had to deal with the changes that I faced before it bacame a bane to my life. I knew I could not just indulge in a childhood I would probably never see again. Even if the past was sweet, I had to adapt.
I am going to compare Joe Brickman and Slade Hutchings. In many ways they are similar and in many ways they are different. Joe represents Lawndale and his father while Slade represents Bankside and his uncle. Citizens of both Lawndale and Bankside always hated each other immensely just like how Joe's father hated Slade's uncle. So, in a way, it is history repeating itself again. However, instead of letting himself go with the flow, Joe decided to step aside, unlike his father. He made the decision of adverting disaster. He did not care what others thought of him but he did what he thought was right. Anyway, Joe wanted to fight only because Slade had insulted everything he loved. Slade on the other hand wanted to fight Joe to prove himself superior. He thought naught of morals and consequences. The difference between them is that Joe fought Slade to protect the name of who he loved while Slade fought to prove his supremacy.
This is an excerpt of the story from Antonio Silva's point of view. "I stared around at the four Lawndale High students squirming on the floor. The Bankside boys had encircled us. I knew I could take them but I just could not shake off the trembling in my legs. Without warning, a burly one pounced onto me. I reacted quick and knocked him off his balance. One down. Sorry, guys, but you are on your own. With that, I broke into a sprint. Before I knew it, a pair of muscular arms had grabbed me. I spun around and saw the big, muscular boy. He was fast. I kicked for freedom but it was to no avail. But suddenly, the arms around me let go and there was a loud crashing sound behind me. It was Joe Brickman. He had saved me. I smirked. It was his funeral. Laughing in mirth, I turned away and ran off without any remorse at all."
I think the author chose to write this book to highlight to teens like us that change cannot be controlled but our own lives could. Through his depictions of Joe, Kristine and Ed, he shows that many things happen at one time and it can essentially cause great frustrations for those who cannot control what happens in their own lives. It takes courage and the willingness to change what one had originally set out to do when it turns out wrong that gives one control. Be in control. That is basically what he wants us to know.
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