And I wrote a Essay!!!
Literary Essay
In today’s world, people who are different are often not regarded nicely. When someone is autistic or disabled, people think they are strange. Some people even go so far as to hate ‘different’ people. People who are unusual are often called weird, and disgusting. In the book Anything But Typical, by Nora Raleigh Baskin, Jason Blake is a boy who is unique in his own way - and he is regarded in that exact way. However, he somehow manages to live on, and face his problems.
In this book, Jason is an autistic boy who wants nothing more than to be understood - not turned away because of his looks or actions, but listened to and helped. Because this does not happen, Jason retreats to his favorite internet website, where he meets a girl named Rebecca, who goes by the name Phoenix Bird, who he can chat and share fiction stories with. When he finally meets Rebecca in real life, he discovers that she is blind. After meeting each other in person, they start to grow distant. It’s not the same anymore. In addition to his story, he writes a story about a dwarf named Bennu who is offered a chance to be tall through a doctor’s operation. However, in the end, Jason goes home and Bennu decides that he is good the way he is. That shows that Jason accepts himself, and that he can deal with his hardships and emerge victorious.
One big pressure that Jason has to deal with all the time is his autism. This branches off into two smaller problems. His first problem is that when he is excited, or angry, he goes nuts. For example, he writes: “I broke [Mrs. Hawthorne’s] potter’s wheel... I didn’t [do it] on purpose, but that doesn’t mean it was an accident, because I was angry when it happened.” (pg. 53) This shows that he can’t really control himself - he was mad, though not at her, and so he broke her potters wheel. Also sometimes he is out of control and he can’t control his arms and legs, and hurts people. Another problem he has is that he has trouble understanding other people. He asks, “What are their eyes saying? Is that a frown or a smile? ... How can you listen ... when you have to think about all that stuff?” (pg. 4-5). This means he can’t really understand other people so well, like “Neurotypicals” (as he calls ‘normal’ people) do effortlessly.
And yet this is not the last of his troubles. Jason has a lot more too, like friends. He has very few - just a boy named Aaron who’s nice to him, and an online friend named PhoenixBird, whose real name is Rebecca. He thinks that if PhoenixBird sees him she will be revolted... When she tells him she might meet him he says he feels really bad. He writes to Rebecca, when he is told he might not go, “(it’s) Too bad [I can’t come to the convention too], that would have been great.” And then he adds, “[That] is just an outright lie.” (pg. 140) because he really is glad when he thinks he can’t come, he is so afraid she’ll see him. And another problem that Jason faces is also related to friendship - most people who see him think bad things. For example, there is the incident with the two girls in the cafeteria: “‘Ew, Katie, look!’ ‘Is he smiling at you?’ ‘Ew, no, it’s just his face.’” (pg. 35) where it is proven - people look at him and see a disability, they see autism. They don’t even try to see Jason Blake himself.
The problems Jason has are what make him what he is, and he wouldn’t be the same without them. Also, in the end, he learns to accept them. Because of that, Jason can teach all of us a valuable lesson. We all need to accept our problems and try to work with them instead of complaining about them. So next time you are complaining about goodness knows what, think of Jason and his problems - and remember, always look on the bright side of life!ANYWAY, yep, that's it. Read it, comment, whatever.
ENJOY!!!!!!
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