I am reading the book "Prom." It is about this senior in high school who hates prom and doesn't care about anything. When the teacher in charge of putting on the prom steals most of the funds Ashley's friends need help to put it on. Ashley finds herself dragged into the commitee and the co-leader of this prom. She has gotten almost everything arrganged and is one of the main reasons the prom hasn't been cancelled. I am at the part where she is about to be told terrible news by the princpal and the leader of the prom commitee. Could her past affect the prom and the outcome of this night of fun for Carceras High seniors? So far I believe the characterization of Ashley and point of view helps us see how she feels.
Ashley is a senior at Carceras High who skips class, doesn't do her assignments , and has many detentions and library fines. She is classified as a normal kid, just going to school to get her dipolma to get a job to make a life. Ashley has oragne hair and freckles and her boyfriends name is Tj. She is the oldest of 3 younger brothers. Ashley works at "Ez-Cheez-E" to save up money to get a nice apartment for Tj and her. She constantly fights with Tj and they don't get along. She doesn't feel like she is apart of school, which makes her feel like she isn't apart of prom and isn't active in school. Yet she finds herself helping put on the prom and eventually yearning to go to prom.
The point of view of this story comes from Ashley and in first person. Ashely talks about how she feels with everything going around her and how the prom affects her. She doesn't care much for anything and sees school as a waste of time. The only reason she goes to school is to get a diploma so she can get a job. We she her view on her relationship with people and how they get along. She constantly butt heads with Mr. Gilroy the vice-princpal and Tj. I see how taking on the prom has changed Ashley and her view on it. She has gotten a place for prom in her life and her new desire is to go to the prom. Throught the point of view you see Ashely mature and grow into a person who interacts with others and does whatever she can to keep something going.
I am enjoying reading this book and highly recommand it.
What an interesting idea, Erin. I agree with you that Ashley's past decisions can affect the prom experience for the entire community, but I never considered the idea that the point of view and characterization provide the opportunity for the author to explain even further how Ashley feels. She is experiencing a lot of emotions so any device the author can use creates a better novel for readers to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteYou explained many of Ashley's experiences; what do you think about them? Have they affected Ashley in a positive or negative way or do they leave her simply as static character who doesn't change in one way or another? First person point of view provides a perfect chance to see how Ashley changes, but that's the question. Does she?