Maria Kostakis Ms. Morris ENG 1D1 4 May 2009 ISU Part 2-Optional Question #4
The theme that was developed by the author wand seemed to exist throughout the entire novel was to be yourself and not to change yourself for others. The author seemed to develop his message by showing that Elliot, the main character had tried to re-invent himself. He did so to fit in amongst everyone else at his new school becoming someone totally opposite to who he really was. This was quite sad because he had done this just to be noticed as what he thought was a “good way”. He had re-invented himself so well that even his own mother couldn’t recognize him. For instance, this was one part of the novel that proved that his own mother was not able to recognize him anymore, “Suddenly you look-different. More grown up, I suppose. Not the -. She looked down. I couldn’t expect you never to change.” (Gibbons 176) It seemed to take Elliot a while to except himself as he was and he learned not to ever change himself again for others.
The theme that the author creates in the novel is basically not to bully other people. The author develops this theme in many ways. One way for example is that when Elliot is taken out of his old school he is emotionally scared from his bullies that bullied him and beat him everyday. By doing this Elliot was so paranoid not to repeat what happened at his old school that he changed the way dressed and looked to not go back to what he was. Another way the author develops the theme of not bullying is when Elliot is so stricken with grief over what he did by joining the Guardians he goes and tells the headmaster at his school. By telling the headmaster at his school he is showing that he relieving all his grief and also doing the right thing for himself and his fellow peers who are being bullied by the Guardians. He is also showing how he has matured from someone who was paranoid about how everyone thought he looked all the time into someone who just took down a group of bullies who has been in existence at his school for nearly a century.
Santhia Sivasuntharam Ms. Morris ENG 1D1 4 May 2009
ISU Part Two - Optional Question 4 In the theme developed by the author, that developed and applied to the whole book. One of them was “Putting masks on to hide your real self, just leads to trouble and stress, which makes you a different person that you aren’t.” Elliot starts of with being the victim of three bullies at his old school. Then he re-invents himself into different people to be noticed in a good way. He changes his hairstyle, his personality and even joined the swim team. When he was thinking that he was being noticed in a good way like he desired , everything changes one day when he finds out the Guardians at Holminster High wants him to continue on there tradition. Elliot has a mask on for the whole entire school in general to be noticed in a good way. Not only did the school notice him but the Guardians also noticed him in a good way. HE went from being the victim for bullies to being the bully. Then, he also becomes friends with the Guardians target, and if the Guardians find out, he’ll be a target again. To avoid the Guardians from finding out he puts on another mask. Now he has to worry about the Guardians finding out, and about his mom finding out about him at school. The stress builds up more when he meets a girl named Louise, who he ends up liking. Elliot can’t be himself with her because of the masks. Therefore, be yourself and people will like you for who you are. Being yourself is the best thing to do, if you know it will build up on you in the end.
Question 4: The theme that is developed by the author is that at any new place, anything can occur, anything can happen, and anyone can win. He develops this theme when Elliot meets the guardians and tries to make it on their “Nice List”, as he doesn’t want to have a terrible start at his new school. If the guardians were to run into problems and have troubles with Elliot, the entire school and community would find out for sure!!
Maria Kostakis Kostakis 1 Ms. Morris ENG 1D1 12 May 2009 Blogging Response for Question #4 The author’s theme that Santhya has come up with seems to be quite agreeable. For one thing, Elliot did have to disguise himself when socializing with certain characters throughout the entire novel. For instance he had certain masks for different people, one mask for Louis, the girl he liked, and another mask for the Guardians, etc. This did cause trouble and had definitely stressed him out in certain aspects. The stress kept building up on Elliot as the novel progressed. Clearly, all this trouble and stress had really come from Elliot wanting to be noticed in a “good way”, since he had been bullied in his old school that is all he had cared about when he had moved to his new school. “He couldn’t hope that he simply wouldn’t be noticed, so he had to ensure he was noticed in the right way.” (Gibbons 35) Therefore, Santhya’s assumption of the theme developed by the author had been developed and applied from the very beginning of the novel to the end of it.
Santhia Sivasuntharam Ms. Morris ENG 1D1 May 7 2009
ISU Part B - Optional Question 4-Reply
Maria the theme you have chosen is agreeable and also it fits into the whole book. For example if Elliot didn’t change himself from the old Elliot he was, he wouldn’t have all the guardian problem and reputation problems. If he wanted to hangout with the unpopular boy Ben, it was his choice. It is understandable why Elliot re-invented himself. “He couldn’t hope that he simply wouldn’t be noticed, so he had to ensure he was noticed in the right way.” (Gibbons 35) If he had been himself from the beginning he wouldn’t have gone through all the troubles he did. He wouldn’t have had to have masks for each person he had a relationship and maybe if he was himself he would have had a better chance with Louise. Also he wouldn’t have lost his relationship with his mother.
Holly Lecours Mrs. Russell ENG1D1 – 05 May, 15th, 2009
Graham Gardner; the author from the book Inventing Elliot sends the message to the readers to learn to accept and be yourself, rather then being something your not. As the book progresses, Elliot the protagonist of the story goes from being a timid and frightened victim of bullying, a teenager madly in love with Louise, finding true friendship from someone he’d never expect - Ben - and given the opportunity for the most power over the school he could ever imagine. Throughout the story Elliot could never be so confused, trying to find himself and not knowing what decisions to make. Everyone at some point in their life feel the same way as Elliot did. In the end, Elliot finally finds himself and chooses the right thing to do. On the last page of the book he realizes the truth; “what’s important, what mattered, was not the fact of being afraid but rather what you did, the choices you made, when you were afraid.” (Gardener 183) Elliot knew what he had to do. Tell the principal about the malicious gang – the Guardians – even though that is not the best decision for him but the right thing to do. This bold action set an example for all the readers to follow and sends us the message as said above. The readers are sent the message by the author, Graham Gardner, to learn to accept yourself, rather then being something your not.
The theme that the author Graham Gardner develops in the novel “Inventing Elliot” is a theme of just be yourself. He does this by 1. Writing so that people can relate and 2.Writing in a persuasive writing style. The first reason is that he writes so that people can relate to the story and say hey why don’t I just be myself it’s so stupid trying to something else. The second and final reason is that Graham Gardner writes in such a persuasive writing style that he can sort of persuade people threw his book to be themselves. The 2 reason why Graham Gardner develops a theme of being yourself threw “Inventing Elliot”
The theme the author is trying to develop relates to bullying situations in school, and how difficult it is for many students to express themselves. This can be for several reasons such as being threatened, not finding the will inside them, or simply afraid that they will be called names like snitch. This forces many students to not be themselves, like Elliot, and that is a way the author develops his message throughout the story. The author tries to show that it is not ok being bullied, and that you can change it. It all depends on you, you can struggle and wait, or you can finish the pain that can be forever lasting. Tell a friend, tell a teacher, better yet tell your parents. They will understand, they’re there to help you with your problems. It is a very well message in a book, it can help a lot of people out.
Nick I have to agree with your opinion that the author wanted to set a theme about bullying and Elliot not being able to stand up against the bullies that were abusing him. I also agree with you that the author wanted to show that it was not okay for people to bully someone just because they look a certain way or dress a certain way. I have to disagree on the part where you wrote that you need to tell a friend, teacher, or parent because sometimes telling a teacher may not resolve the issue at all. For example if you tell a teacher at your school and they confront the bully and state your name and the teacher does not tell your parents this may strengthen the bullies resolve and abuse you for a much longer period of time. Overall your opinion was great.
I highly agree with your opinion about the theme of the novel, but I also feel that the theme should also include the theme of "positive thinking gives you power to do anything". I also agree that Elliot, thoughout the novel, did invent himself ins ome good ways, and some not so good ways. He did start out as an individual who was afraid to speak his mind in fear of getting hurt by doing so, but he developed to an individual who was not afraid to speak his mind to adults if something is going wrong. “What’s important, what mattered, was not the fact of being afraid but rather what you did, the choices you made, when you were afraid.” (Gardner 183).
I can imagine Elliot's stress trying to live multiple lives and tyring to please everybody in each one of his lives, knowing that a part of one of his lives could seep into another part of another of his lives and completely destroy it!!
I strongly agree with Santhia's answer. The theme Santhia explained was certainly established in the novel. All of the masks Elliot had to wear could not exist in the presence of the others, or else everything would fall apart. Of course that was the least of Elliot's problems. Because Elliot had become several people he was not, he ended up drifting away from everyone important to him so he could keep the masks away from eachother. What Elliot thought he was doing was for his own good at the time in actuality was destroying himself. The answer was incredible. Good job Santhia.
In the novel Inventing Elliot, the author Graham Gardner sends a message of how the choices we make define us. Through the story Elliot is faced with many decisions on how to “reinvent” himself to avoid further bullying. He thinks through what to say, what facial expressions to show, and even how to stand or sit to make sure that he makes the right choice. After meeting the “Guardians” Elliot is presented with the choice of whether or no to cross the line from the punished to the punisher. All these decisions show how they can affect your next steps in life and where they will take you. Your choices made in life will define who you are.
Nick i agree with your answer because i like how you said the thing about students trying to express themselves. Your right on how the author devolved the theme through the story and i never really realized that. i think your answer and opinion of the theme is good.
I absolutely agree with Santhia. The moral and theme of the story go along completely. But I also think that not only will being yourself keep you out of trouble, it will also leave you from feeling shameful and remorseful. If Elliot had just done the correct thing from the start, then he would not have been under so much stress and anxiety by the end of the semester. The author developed the theme of the novel more thoroughly by leaving hints and notes about his past. The author tells us that Elliot had a previous history with other bullies as well as a sad past with his insipartion; his father. This makes the theme and atmosphere of the story more complex and deeper than just regular bullying. I think that Santhia's answer to this question was completely correct, because like she had said, if there were no "masks" to hide behind, then he would naturally be himself and then would have gotten into less trouble with the Guardians.
I liked Nick’s paragraph and agree with it. Although I think he could’ve added a bit more detail. But not too much, like mine. Because I noticed I over did it with too much detail. Nick has most of the important concepts in the novel but I would just like to add some concepts. Elliot also had problems with his family. His dad got into an accident and had to spend a long time in the hospital. Elliot however thought to himself in the novel that he wished his father was dead. “He’d wished his dad was dead. So had Ben. But Ben had got his wish. What would I do if I got my wish?” (Gardner 98). This shows that Elliot also had conflicts with his father. He and his mother also had conflicts. I am guessing that this had happened because Elliot’s mother was tired and Elliot, who did not want his mom involved with him and school, wanted to keep the things he did with the Guardians at school a secret.
I disagree with Santhya. The reason is because I thought she missed an important theme of the story, which is bullying. What i wrote had a lot to do with bullying. It is because throughout the story Elliot expects to be bullied, but something is different. He has the mental frame of being bullied because he was bullied on a daily basis in his old school.
Also, as said by Santhya "Therefore, be yourself and people will like you for who you are. Being yourself is the best thing to do, if you know it will build up on you in the end". The whole reason he wears masks around people is because he does not want to get bullied. He thinks by being not him, but another Elliot he will stop getting bullied. Let's say for example he decides to not wear the masks and be the original Elliot, he could get bullied again, and he does want that.
I agree with Daniel V., mainly because he has the same point i stated. He is tired of being bullied so he invents these different masks around different people. These bullies were at his old school, so he does not know what to expect from his new school. I like how Daniel mentioned the part where Elliot knocks on the headmaster's door to tell him about the Guardians and their bullying.
18 comments:
Maria Kostakis
Ms. Morris
ENG 1D1
4 May 2009
ISU Part 2-Optional Question #4
The theme that was developed by the author wand seemed to exist throughout the entire novel was to be yourself and not to change yourself for others. The author seemed to develop his message by showing that Elliot, the main character had tried to re-invent himself. He did so to fit in amongst everyone else at his new school becoming someone totally opposite to who he really was. This was quite sad because he had done this just to be noticed as what he thought was a “good way”. He had re-invented himself so well that even his own mother couldn’t recognize him. For instance, this was one part of the novel that proved that his own mother was not able to recognize him anymore, “Suddenly you look-different. More grown up, I suppose. Not the -. She looked down. I couldn’t expect you never to change.” (Gibbons 176) It seemed to take Elliot a while to except himself as he was and he learned not to ever change himself again for others.
Expository Paragraph #3
Question #4
Daniel Velocci
Ms. Morris
ENG 1D1
7 May 2009
The theme that the author creates in the novel is basically not to bully other people. The author develops this theme in many ways. One way for example is that when Elliot is taken out of his old school he is emotionally scared from his bullies that bullied him and beat him everyday. By doing this Elliot was so paranoid not to repeat what happened at his old school that he changed the way dressed and looked to not go back to what he was. Another way the author develops the theme of not bullying is when Elliot is so stricken with grief over what he did by joining the Guardians he goes and tells the headmaster at his school. By telling the headmaster at his school he is showing that he relieving all his grief and also doing the right thing for himself and his fellow peers who are being bullied by the Guardians. He is also showing how he has matured from someone who was paranoid about how everyone thought he looked all the time into someone who just took down a group of bullies who has been in existence at his school for nearly a century.
Santhia Sivasuntharam
Ms. Morris
ENG 1D1
4 May 2009
ISU Part Two - Optional Question 4
In the theme developed by the author, that developed and applied to the whole book. One of them was “Putting masks on to hide your real self, just leads to trouble and stress, which makes you a different person that you aren’t.” Elliot starts of with being the victim of three bullies at his old school. Then he re-invents himself into different people to be noticed in a good way. He changes his hairstyle, his personality and even joined the swim team. When he was thinking that he was being noticed in a good way like he desired , everything changes one day when he finds out the Guardians at Holminster High wants him to continue on there tradition. Elliot has a mask on for the whole entire school in general to be noticed in a good way. Not only did the school notice him but the Guardians also noticed him in a good way. HE went from being the victim for bullies to being the bully. Then, he also becomes friends with the Guardians target, and if the Guardians find out, he’ll be a target again. To avoid the Guardians from finding out he puts on another mask. Now he has to worry about the Guardians finding out, and about his mom finding out about him at school. The stress builds up more when he meets a girl named Louise, who he ends up liking. Elliot can’t be himself with her because of the masks. Therefore, be yourself and people will like you for who you are. Being yourself is the best thing to do, if you know it will build up on you in the end.
Question 4: The theme that is developed by the author is that at any new place, anything can occur, anything can happen, and anyone can win. He develops this theme when Elliot meets the guardians and tries to make it on their “Nice List”, as he doesn’t want to have a terrible start at his new school. If the guardians were to run into problems and have troubles with Elliot, the entire school and community would find out for sure!!
Maria Kostakis Kostakis 1
Ms. Morris
ENG 1D1
12 May 2009
Blogging Response for Question #4
The author’s theme that Santhya has come up with seems to be quite agreeable. For one thing, Elliot did have to disguise himself when socializing with certain characters throughout the entire novel. For instance he had certain masks for different people, one mask for Louis, the girl he liked, and another mask for the Guardians, etc. This did cause trouble and had definitely stressed him out in certain aspects. The stress kept building up on Elliot as the novel progressed. Clearly, all this trouble and stress had really come from Elliot wanting to be noticed in a “good way”, since he had been bullied in his old school that is all he had cared about when he had moved to his new school. “He couldn’t hope that he simply wouldn’t be noticed, so he had to ensure he was noticed in the right way.” (Gibbons 35) Therefore, Santhya’s assumption of the theme developed by the author had been developed and applied from the very beginning of the novel to the end of it.
Santhia Sivasuntharam Ms. Morris
ENG 1D1
May 7 2009
ISU Part B - Optional Question 4-Reply
Maria the theme you have chosen is agreeable and also it fits into the whole book. For example if Elliot didn’t change himself from the old Elliot he was, he wouldn’t have all the guardian problem and reputation problems. If he wanted to hangout with the unpopular boy Ben, it was his choice. It is understandable why Elliot re-invented himself. “He couldn’t hope that he simply wouldn’t be noticed, so he had to ensure he was noticed in the right way.” (Gibbons 35) If he had been himself from the beginning he wouldn’t have gone through all the troubles he did. He wouldn’t have had to have masks for each person he had a relationship and maybe if he was himself he would have had a better chance with Louise. Also he wouldn’t have lost his relationship with his mother.
Holly Lecours
Mrs. Russell
ENG1D1 – 05
May, 15th, 2009
Graham Gardner; the author from the book Inventing Elliot sends the message to the readers to learn to accept and be yourself, rather then being something your not. As the book progresses, Elliot the protagonist of the story goes from being a timid and frightened victim of bullying, a teenager madly in love with Louise, finding true friendship from someone he’d never expect - Ben - and given the opportunity for the most power over the school he could ever imagine. Throughout the story Elliot could never be so confused, trying to find himself and not knowing what decisions to make. Everyone at some point in their life feel the same way as Elliot did. In the end, Elliot finally finds himself and chooses the right thing to do. On the last page of the book he realizes the truth; “what’s important, what mattered, was not the fact of being afraid but rather what you did, the choices you made, when you were afraid.” (Gardener 183) Elliot knew what he had to do. Tell the principal about the malicious gang – the Guardians – even though that is not the best decision for him but the right thing to do. This bold action set an example for all the readers to follow and sends us the message as said above. The readers are sent the message by the author, Graham Gardner, to learn to accept yourself, rather then being something your not.
Shawn Hanlon
Mrs. Russell
ENG1D1-05
The theme that the author Graham Gardner develops in the novel “Inventing Elliot” is a theme of just be yourself. He does this by 1. Writing so that people can relate and 2.Writing in a persuasive writing style. The first reason is that he writes so that people can relate to the story and say hey why don’t I just be myself it’s so stupid trying to something else. The second and final reason is that Graham Gardner writes in such a persuasive writing style that he can sort of persuade people threw his book to be themselves. The 2 reason why Graham Gardner develops a theme of being yourself threw “Inventing Elliot”
The theme the author is trying to develop relates to bullying situations in school, and how
difficult it is for many students to express themselves. This can be for several reasons such as
being threatened, not finding the will inside them, or simply afraid that they will be called
names like snitch. This forces many students to not be themselves, like Elliot, and that is a way the author develops his message throughout the story. The author tries to show that it is not ok being bullied, and that you can change it. It all depends on you, you can struggle and wait, or
you can finish the pain that can be forever lasting. Tell a friend, tell a teacher, better yet tell
your parents. They will understand, they’re there to help you with your problems. It is a very well message in a book, it can help a lot of people out.
Daniel Velocci
Ms. Morris
ENG 1D1
May 15, 2009
ISU Part B Reply
Nick I have to agree with your opinion that the author wanted to set a theme about bullying and Elliot not being able to stand up against the bullies that were abusing him. I also agree with you that the author wanted to show that it was not okay for people to bully someone just because they look a certain way or dress a certain way. I have to disagree on the part where you wrote that you need to tell a friend, teacher, or parent because sometimes telling a teacher may not resolve the issue at all. For example if you tell a teacher at your school and they confront the bully and state your name and the teacher does not tell your parents this may strengthen the bullies resolve and abuse you for a much longer period of time. Overall your opinion was great.
Holly,
I highly agree with your opinion about the theme of the novel, but I also feel that the theme should also include the theme of "positive thinking gives you power to do anything". I also agree that Elliot, thoughout the novel, did invent himself ins ome good ways, and some not so good ways. He did start out as an individual who was afraid to speak his mind in fear of getting hurt by doing so, but he developed to an individual who was not afraid to speak his mind to adults if something is going wrong. “What’s important, what mattered, was not the fact of being afraid but rather what you did, the choices you made, when you were afraid.” (Gardner 183).
I can imagine Elliot's stress trying to live multiple lives and tyring to please everybody in each one of his lives, knowing that a part of one of his lives could seep into another part of another of his lives and completely destroy it!!
Good Work Holly!!
Terry Troy
Mrs. Russell
ENG1D1-06
18 May 2009
ISU part B reply to Santhia
I strongly agree with Santhia's answer. The theme Santhia explained was certainly established in the novel. All of the masks Elliot had to wear could not exist in the presence of the others, or else everything would fall apart. Of course that was the least of Elliot's problems. Because Elliot had become several people he was not, he ended up drifting away from everyone important to him so he could keep the masks away from eachother. What Elliot thought he was doing was for his own good at the time in actuality was destroying himself. The answer was incredible. Good job Santhia.
In the novel Inventing Elliot, the author Graham Gardner sends a message of how the choices we make define us. Through the story Elliot is faced with many decisions on how to “reinvent” himself to avoid further bullying. He thinks through what to say, what facial expressions to show, and even how to stand or sit to make sure that he makes the right choice. After meeting the “Guardians” Elliot is presented with the choice of whether or no to cross the line from the punished to the punisher. All these decisions show how they can affect your next steps in life and where they will take you. Your choices made in life will define who you are.
Nick i agree with your answer because i like how you said the thing about students trying to express themselves. Your right on how the author devolved the theme through the story and i never really realized that. i think your answer and opinion of the theme is good.
In reply to Santhia's answer:
I absolutely agree with Santhia. The moral and theme of the story go along completely. But I also think that not only will being yourself keep you out of trouble, it will also leave you from feeling shameful and remorseful. If Elliot had just done the correct thing from the start, then he would not have been under so much stress and anxiety by the end of the semester. The author developed the theme of the novel more thoroughly by leaving hints and notes about his past. The author tells us that Elliot had a previous history with other bullies as well as a sad past with his insipartion; his father. This makes the theme and atmosphere of the story more complex and deeper than just regular bullying. I think that Santhia's answer to this question was completely correct, because like she had said, if there were no "masks" to hide behind, then he would naturally be himself and then would have gotten into less trouble with the Guardians.
I liked Nick’s paragraph and agree with it. Although I think he could’ve added a bit more detail. But not too much, like mine. Because I noticed I over did it with too much detail. Nick has most of the important concepts in the novel but I would just like to add some concepts. Elliot also had problems with his family. His dad got into an accident and had to spend a long time in the hospital. Elliot however thought to himself in the novel that he wished his father was dead. “He’d wished his dad was dead. So had Ben. But Ben had got his wish. What would I do if I got my wish?” (Gardner 98). This shows that Elliot also had conflicts with his father. He and his mother also had conflicts. I am guessing that this had happened because Elliot’s mother was tired and Elliot, who did not want his mom involved with him and school, wanted to keep the things he did with the Guardians at school a secret.
I disagree with Santhya. The reason is because I thought she missed an important theme of the story, which is bullying. What i wrote had a lot to do with bullying. It is because throughout the story Elliot expects to be bullied, but something is different. He has the mental frame of being bullied because he was bullied on a daily basis in his old school.
Also, as said by Santhya "Therefore, be yourself and people will like you for who you are. Being yourself is the best thing to do, if you know it will build up on you in the end". The whole reason he wears masks around people is because he does not want to get bullied. He thinks by being not him, but another Elliot he will stop getting bullied. Let's say for example he decides to not wear the masks and be the original Elliot, he could get bullied again, and he does want that.
I agree with Daniel V., mainly because he has the same point i stated. He is tired of being bullied so he invents these different masks around different people. These bullies were at his old school, so he does not know what to expect from his new school. I like how Daniel mentioned the part where Elliot knocks on the headmaster's door to tell him about the Guardians and their bullying.
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