When faced with a challenge, one must learn to cope well. However, these coping methods must change when different challenges are faced. In the novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, the Alper family must cope with Jeffrey’s illness. Over the course of the novel, their coping mechanisms develop and change. The different struggles that the family face define what kinds of coping methods that they need and can afford.
One of the characters, Steven, must cope with Jeffrey’s illness. His coping starts off with him sullenly trying to escape reality. This comes in the form of drums. When drumming Steven says that he is able to escape the reality stuff (Sonnenblick 53). Since he hasn’t yet come to terms with Jeffrey’s illness, he still isn’t sure what to do. He just goes through life’s motions. He doesn’t really think about anything, he is in a sort of daze (Sonnenblick 55). The only thing familiar to him is drumming, so he just puts effort into that (Sonnenblick 53). Everything else has become unimportant to him; including school. He puts no effort into school, and is reluctant to open up. He only shares his actual feelings in his journal (Sonnenblick 57-60). This can show how closed Steven really is. After deciding to get his life together, Steven starts to work hard in school. He started realizing that his parents would start to worry about him if his grades dropped (Sonnenblick 124), and they didn’t have that luxury at their dispense. He is willing to talk openly with others for support (Sonnenblick 123). When he receives the book from Mrs. Galley, he makes sure to read it so that he can understand what is going on with Jeffrey (Sonnenblick 241). A prominent theme in the book is “Focus on the things that you can change, not the ones that you can’t”. This theme is very noticable in Steven’s coping mechanisms near the end (Sonnenblick 200). A bit into the book, we see Steven’s Dad’s …show more content…
She even quits her job so she can be with him and help him through treatment. The Mom is really concerned about Jeffrey, so she does everything she can to increase the chances of him surviving. She even prays for him so that “God’ would keep him alive.
Near the end of the book, she tries to help Jeffrey emotionally. She stays with him until she is sick and can’t because she might get him sick too. She then gives detailed instructions to the Dad on everything she does for Jeffrey.
Since he is a small and spirited child, Jeffrey has very simple coping mechanisms, Matt Medic and Steven. At first, Jeffrey sees Matt Medic as a hero to help keep himself brave (Sonnenblick 112-113). In “A man’s journey”, Jeffrey has to look to Steven for bravery for the first time. He later does this when he gets sick at Steven’s concert.
When there is a challenge, something must change for the problem to be fixed. As each character’s priorities change, so do their coping methods. Overall, the coping of the characters of the book became more productive, with each character trying to contribute as much as possible. Now, each character is able to consciously control how they deal with things. We see a each change in response to an obstacle in the story. These changes must also happen in real
One of the characters, Steven, must cope with Jeffrey’s illness. His coping starts off with him sullenly trying to escape reality. This comes in the form of drums. When drumming Steven says that he is able to escape the reality stuff (Sonnenblick 53). Since he hasn’t yet come to terms with Jeffrey’s illness, he still isn’t sure what to do. He just goes through life’s motions. He doesn’t really think about anything, he is in a sort of daze (Sonnenblick 55). The only thing familiar to him is drumming, so he just puts effort into that (Sonnenblick 53). Everything else has become unimportant to him; including school. He puts no effort into school, and is reluctant to open up. He only shares his actual feelings in his journal (Sonnenblick 57-60). This can show how closed Steven really is. After deciding to get his life together, Steven starts to work hard in school. He started realizing that his parents would start to worry about him if his grades dropped (Sonnenblick 124), and they didn’t have that luxury at their dispense. He is willing to talk openly with others for support (Sonnenblick 123). When he receives the book from Mrs. Galley, he makes sure to read it so that he can understand what is going on with Jeffrey (Sonnenblick 241). A prominent theme in the book is “Focus on the things that you can change, not the ones that you can’t”. This theme is very noticable in Steven’s coping mechanisms near the end (Sonnenblick 200). A bit into the book, we see Steven’s Dad’s …show more content…
She even quits her job so she can be with him and help him through treatment. The Mom is really concerned about Jeffrey, so she does everything she can to increase the chances of him surviving. She even prays for him so that “God’ would keep him alive.
Near the end of the book, she tries to help Jeffrey emotionally. She stays with him until she is sick and can’t because she might get him sick too. She then gives detailed instructions to the Dad on everything she does for Jeffrey.
Since he is a small and spirited child, Jeffrey has very simple coping mechanisms, Matt Medic and Steven. At first, Jeffrey sees Matt Medic as a hero to help keep himself brave (Sonnenblick 112-113). In “A man’s journey”, Jeffrey has to look to Steven for bravery for the first time. He later does this when he gets sick at Steven’s concert.
When there is a challenge, something must change for the problem to be fixed. As each character’s priorities change, so do their coping methods. Overall, the coping of the characters of the book became more productive, with each character trying to contribute as much as possible. Now, each character is able to consciously control how they deal with things. We see a each change in response to an obstacle in the story. These changes must also happen in real