Themes

I think the theme is hurting people that care about you. In "The Life You Save May Be Your Own", Mr. Shiftlet hurts both Lucynell and her mother. First, he leaves the mute Lucynell at a bar, where who knows if she'll find her way home or not. Then, he steals the car. Lucynell and her mother both cared about Mr. Shiftlet or her mother wouldn't have let them get married. In the "Rules of the Game", Mei Mei hurts her mother by telling her that she didn't like it when she pointed her out to everyone she saw. Then by running away from her mother Mei Mei hurt her even more. In "Teenage Wasteland", the hurt goes two ways. Donny hurt his parents by not trying and letting them think that everything that was wrong with him was there fault. His parents hurt him by not trying hard enough. They obviously tried but they didn't really try and work things out with him. I know sometimes just my dad asking how things are going at school, makes me feel a lot better about it. In "The Book of the Dead", Annie's dad hurt her by lying about his past. I still don't understand why he didn't want her to know. He also destroyed her work of art. A piece of art that she put time and energy and thought into it. If he didn't want her to make the statue about him, he shouldn't have lied to her in the first place.

"Teenage Wasteland"

At the beginning of the story, I really felt bad for Donny but after his grades dropped it made me feel bad. I don't think Cal was doing a very good job with Donny. I think that even after Donny was going to Cals, Daisy should have still been allowed to help him with his homework. Then he may have opened up to her. I also think that Cal should have pushed Donny to do better in school and helped him figure out his problems. I believe that another student really did put the beer in Donny's locker because some lockers have locks that are built right into the locker. Maybe the kid that put the beer in his locker had the same one before. I think that even though Donny had gotten himself kicked out of school, he should have went home. Or he should have at least called from Cal's house as soon as he got there. At first, I didn't believe Donny's story but when Daisy mentioned that it looked like he had been crying, I believed him. He obviously felt some kind of remorse for what had happened. I don't understand why Donny had to run away. Things didn't seem so bad for him at home and even if his school life was bad, he could have opened up to his family or he looked up some friends from Cals. I feel sorry for the parents because they always thought it was there fault that he was failing. After, he ran away, there could be no rescue from his parents suffering.

"The Book of the Dead"

I can only imagine how she felt when Annie woke up and her father and the statue were missing. Especially because she knew how her father felt about the statue. I think that he should have told her the truth before they had made the trip down there to give it to Gabrielle. I know I wouldn't have been able to go to Gabrielle's house knowing that I didn't have the statue she wanted. I would have felt especially horrible after Gabrielle explained why she had wanted the statue so much. It seemed like her father had been through a lot and the statue would have been a nice gift. Although, it would have been a constant reminder of what he had been through. I still don't believe he threw Annie's statue in the lake. It was her work of art not his. Just because Michelangelo made a sculpture of Cardinal Riaro it wasn't his to destroy. I don't see why Annie's father couldn't tell her what he had been through. I understand he didn't want anyone else to know what had actually happened but she's his daughter and he should have trusted her not to say anything.

"Rules of the Game"

I understand that Mei Mei's mother was proud of her, but showing her off to everyone would be embarrassing. I'm sure Mei Mei didn't want to hurt her mother, she was just frustrated. I disagree with Mei Mei's actions. After knocking the groceries out of the woman's arms, she should have helped pick them up. She shouldn't have run away from her mother either. I kind of feel bad for the mother. It's obvious she loves her daughter very much and she probably thinks her daughter is unappreciative and uncaring. After all, the mother did make Mei Mei's brothers do extra chores so Mei Mei could practice chess. Mei Mei is young and doesn't fully understand how her actions affect her parent's feelings. By running away, Mei Mei really showed how much growing up she has to do. Although her mother's bragging may have been embarrassing, she should have dealt with it and talked to her mother about it at home. After all, "actions do speak louder than words."

"The Life You Save May Be Your Own"

I can't believe Mr. Shiftlet left Lucynell at the Hot Shot. Lucynell can't talk. She won't be able to ask about him or be able to go home. The way Mr. Shiftlet abandoned her was atrocious. Lucynell's mother let him into there home, gave him a place to stay, fed him, and let him fix the car to take Lucynell on a trip to a hotel. I wonder if maybe the mother thought that Mr. Shiftlet would abandon Lucynell because she kept insisting that she wouldn't know the difference and that he would be getting a roof over his head for marrying Lucynell. I think the mother wanted someone to take care of her daughter after she had passed away. Lucynell is mute and her mother just wanted someone to take care of her daughter. Mr. Shiftlet was perfect for her because he was helping her speak. I wonder if Mr. Shiftlet knew about the car before he went to the house. Did he plan everything out as he went or was it pre-planned? Either way, all the work he did doesn't make up for stealing the car and dumping his bride off. In my opinion, Mr. Shiftlet has some serious issues he needs to work out. If he didn't want to marry Lucynell, he should have told her mother that. The mother obviously didn't use the car, why couldn't he have just asked if in return for the work he did, if he could have the car as payment. It would have been better than stealing from people that didn't do anything to him.