How different are people allowed to be in your text?
Does it assume everyone is happy and good in the same ways?
Recently, I just started reading Tilt, by Ellen Hopkins. Each chapter is a new character and their point of view and I've realized that at least one character relates to another. Whether it was lifestyle, attitude or the way they express themselves. After that realization, I realized that many characters in this book seem unhappy because people don't accept the way they choose to be.
When I first started reading this book, the first character that I was introduced to was Mikayla. The first impression I had made of her was a teen who likes to experiment with life.
"My World Tilted. Completely off it's axis the night I hooked up with Dylan Douglas. It was New Years Eve-- five months ago-- so maybe part of that earth-sway had something to do with the downers, weed, and cheap beer." (Hopkins, 1)
Her parents don't watch her every move and I think she misses them guarding her down but they only care when they want to. Then, she continues to talk about her past relationships and how glad she is that she didn't give her virginity to her last boyfriend. Then later on she goes to sneak out with Dylan to go to a party in some short shorts and a revealing tank top. Her brother disapproves while her mother doesn't see. She knows her mother disagrees with almost everything she does. But, she doesn't care because she loves Dylan. In my opinion, the feeling isn't mutual. Dylan seems to just be using her for sex and her appearance.
As I made my way through the book, I met Shane and Alex. They met each other online and they are both gay. They're not as open as others because not many people agree with their lifestyle choice. Therefore, they are unhappy. "It wasn't even the gay-bashing. I got used to that in grade school." (Hopkins, 12) It's not like Shane told people he was gay. They just assumed from his actions, and they didn't accept him for who he was. Alex is even unhappier because he has HIV. His Step Uncle raped him when he was 10 and threatened that if Alex told, he would kill his sister. Alex is a secretive person because of this while Shane wants him to be more open and speak out. Shane is going through somethings himself. His parents act like they're divorced, constantly arguing and on top of that, his little sister is on the verge of dying and that's his mom's main focus. His mom and dad barely agree on him being gay, but he doesn't care.
There are a few other characters that I was introduced to but I was more interested in Brianna. Brianna is unhappy because everything is backwards. Everyone expects her to be like her sister and her mom, who acts younger than she is. Everyone thinks she wants to be a copy of her sister but in reality she thinks her sister, "exposes more than she should." (Hopkins, 95) Yet, because Brianna is nothing like her sister or mother, she is only liked by few. In Brianna's opinion, her mom is a 40 year old slut. Everyone see's her in a different light than she really is. In order for her to get friends, she has to act like her mom and her sister and because she doesn't want to be that way, she is unhappy and basically, lonely.
This text made me realize that people are still being stereotyped often. Whether it's by their lifestyle or appearance. Even the lifestyle and appearance of the people around them . Nobody expects Shane to be gay because his dad went to church when he was younger. Nobody expects Mikayla to act the way she does because usually her parents are watching her and they're strict. Lastly, nobody expects Brianna to be a 'nobody' because of the way her sister and mother act, and their reputation. Everything a character in this story does, depends on what someone else thinks of them, and in the end, they're all unhappy and lacking patience. So far, what I have gotten from this story is that what you see on the outside is different than the point of view on the inside for each character. That's what I think the authors purpose of this book was for. Almost as if to say not to judge a person by their actions and appearance, but to get to know them first.
