An Analysis Of Holly Goldberg Sloan's Counting

In Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan, one of the main characters, Dell, changed over the course of the book due to meeting Willow.

Before Dell met Willow, he was unempathetic and had no regard for staying healthy. Before Dell worked at Willow’s middle school, he never stayed at a job for very long. One of these jobs included working at an assisted living center. He only worked there for three months. Sloane stated, “The elderly didn’t like him. He lacked true compassion and he had no stomach for their health problems” (39). As is shown, Dell was never really fit to work with people. When he was in charge of planning activities for the elderly, he never really took the time to connect with what they wanted. He didn’t care about …show more content…
After Willow’s parents died, Dell becomes more in touch with Willow’s personal life. When Willow runs away from the hospital after getting stitches between her eyebrows, Dell is notified so he can help find her. When Willow’s best friend, Mai, finds her hiding under a chair in the library, she tells her how concerned everyone is about her. The author stated, “ ‘Dell Duke is trying to find you. Maybe there’s some kind of reward, because he’s pretty fired up’ “ (Sloan 159). The old Dell probably would not have been concerned with where Willow was hiding, but after he met Willow, she had caused him to have a change of heart. Even though there isn’t a reward for finding Willow, Dell is still searching like there is one because he cares so much about her. Because of Willow’s kindness towards Dell, he resolves himself to be more like her. After meeting WIllow, Dell is now more compassionate and concerned with others. Furthermore, offering his home for Willow’s benefit has made Dell resolve to be healthier. Willow is using Dell’s house for the purpose of a Social Security inspection, Dell decides to become more healthy. With Mai’s mom’s healthy food being the only thing to eat, Dell loses some weight. He feels he has taken a step in the right direction and decides to continue to make himself healthier. Sloane stated,“ ‘Are you really planning on running?’ Dell mumbles a form of yes. But then adds: ‘... I’m just going to run for myself’ “ (259). Dell’s new attitude to run for his own benefit shows how Dell is more resolved to improving his physical health. Whether or not Willow was directly responsible for his new mindset, her situation caused him to become healthier. Even though Dell didn’t really have a choice about what he was eating, it was his choice to improve his physical health. This shows how Dell has become more concerned with his health and has taken a