Abuse In Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk

Chris Crutcher’s Whale Talk tackles a lot of important issues and topics facing teens and young adults. One of those is abuse. He tells about how different characters deal with and overcome their abuse through theme, tone, and modern connections. It is important to know that not everyone deals with abuse the same way, and that not everyone has someone to help them deal with their issues. Two characters in Whale Talk have been abused and they dealt with it in very different ways. One of the characters who had gone through abuse is Andy Mott, who always takes on a certain tone when talking about his experience. “‘So consider yourself told’” (Crutcher 158). This shows that Andy’s tone is generally submissive and a touch hostile when he has to talk about his abuse. He trusts T.J. enough to tell him about what happened, …show more content…
She helps build the theme that anyone can get over a traumatic event as long as they have the proper support and friends. “What the hell, I dump mine, too, and suddenly the three of us are grazing over the living-room rug” (Crutcher 168). When Heidi panics as a result of her spilling her fries, T.J.’s dad does the right thing and dumps his own fries out onto the floor and T.J. joins him. Heidi quickly becomes comfortable with them after that. The last way Crutcher tells a story about overcoming abuse is through modern connections. Sexual abuse and rape are often difficult subjects to talk about. Especially for the victim, as the experience was likely traumatizing. I will be talking about Andy Mott once again. “‘Rather be brown than be somebody got done by his mother’s boyfriend’” (Crutcher 150). In both of these examples, the victims did the right thing and stepped up to tell their story. “They also revealed themselves to be powerful survivors who refused to be victims any longer” (Maine). Both Andy and the victims of Larry Nassar did something that can never be easy, for