Commentary on We All Fall Down Essay

General outline for any essay question: Themes, Characters, and Techniques

Robert Cormiers We All Fall Down explores the April Fools Day trashing of the Jeromes house that leaves the youngest daughter Karen in a coma, the house a physical disaster, and an emotional state for Jane and her family. The trashers are four average high schoolers led by the domineering Harry Flowers. Harry manipulated the group and takes advantage of Buddys state of mind. The Avenger an 11 year old boy witnesses it all, but remains an unknown character until the conclusion. The book focuses separately on the trashers, the Jerome family and the Avenger, as they unknowingly interact and come together at the stories end. The title We All Fall Down suggest that in some part of our lives we are capable of falling down emotionally, morally or physically.

The novel addresses many themes that are important in todays society, such as Teenage Alcoholism, Power and Friendship. These themes are shown through techniques such as symbolism, conflict (character Vs character) and narrative perspectives.

Teenage drinking is an important issue in every community and with the ever-changing adolescent population, Cormier has addressed this theme and issue through one of the main characters, Buddy Walker. Impelled by quilt, his parents divorce and by the urging of an immoral classmate (Harry Flowers), Buddy is rapidly becoming an alcoholic. Buddy finds that he needs the liquor to provide his needs, comfort and to escape from reality. Buddy discovered the marvellous methods of booze, the way it soothed and stoked, made hazy the harshness of thing and made him almost happy. The technique to show Buddys alcoholism is the symbol of his bottle of gin. Cormier uses Buddys bottle of gin as a symbol for what Buddys life has become and the need to turn back to it everytime he is down. This is shown when Buddys sister Addie has to get a bottle of gin and show him in order for them to make contact and talk. He has also used the symbol not just to simplify Buddys thoughts, but to express them as representing his life.

Another theme that Cormier has developed throughout the text is Power. Harry and his stooges Randy and Marty are the main trashers of the house as well as Buddy, but represent the power of the peer group. Harry has considerable power over his younger friends. His actions leading to the trashing of the house and how he becomes the leader of the group show this. Harrys only order about trashing the house was not to smash any of the windows. This adds to Harrys character and is also a metaphor to Buddys character the outside is very different to what is happening in the inside. The main technique used to show Harrys power is conflict. Conflict is shown through Harry and Buddy as they come across difficulties with each other. All of which made him shiver inside, realising that Harry was giving him a message, telling him what to believe. This shows inner conflict because Buddy is aware that Harry uses his power to manipulate him but doesnt do anything to stop it. This conflict that Cormier has created drives that action between them and is the basis of the plot.

Through using Cormiers narrative perspective, we are able to see how important friendships can be during teenage years and the situations that develop within a peer group. Jane needs the confirmation of belonging through the friendship of Patti and Leslie. Cormier has chosen to tell the story in a first person narrative using three different perspectives. This means that he can get inside the heads of all his characters, while also describing what is happening from the perspective of key characters. Even while seeing certain scenes unfold, we are also able to know what each character is thinking. This technique is shown through Jane. Jane has her own narrative perspective, which enables her to appreciate her attitudes, feelings and thoughts of close friends. While Jane shows Patti and Leslie her trashed house, Jane goes through different emotions, as she is very careful about what she says and is always negative about her friends responses. By her own perspective of the story, we can tell that Jane is frustrated and annoyed with everything Patti and Leslie say. She doesnt trust as many people anymore and becomes sensitive. This is shown when Jane wants to change the subject when they were asking questions about her house. She was the one who had first withdrawn, avoiding them, sensing that she had become an embarrassment The purpose of Cormier using Janes narration perspective is to create more suspense, her own point of view, an insight into what Jane is feeling and her emotions. Her narration provides that reasons what Jane decides not to see her friends as much and shows how she changes.

We All Fall Down reads like a pacey thriller, with violence, an engrossing plot with plenty of narrative twists, a romantic subplot and a dramatic climax. Robert Cormier has explored the twisted corners of peoples minds as he studies the effects of random violence on his characters.

Throughout the text, we were able to see how he feels about certain issues and themes such as: Teenage Alcoholism, Power and Friendships. It is through the use of Cormiers techniques that shape meaning to the novel. Such techniques that have developed the main themes include symbolism, conflicts between characters and narrative perspectives. You learn to think about society like the way it was explained in the book and understand the characters better.

We All Fall Down