Have you ever tried to hide your emotion by using humor? Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was published in 2012 and was written by Jesse Andrews. Andrews was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is about Greg, a senior in high school, and Earl, his best friend and how they meet and befriend Rachel, a girl that is diagnosed with leukemia. Greg’s plan of blending in with everybody in high school quickly fades as he becomes closer with Rachel. Andrews uses diction and characterization to make a very relatable, insightful and authentic book.
One of the ways that this book was so relatable to the reader is the characterization used by Jesse Andrews. Near the end of the book as Greg tells us his final thoughts …show more content…
As Greg starts to realize that Rachel is dying he beings to have a lot more inner conflict. “There was something about her dying that I had understood but not really understood… you can know someone is dying on an intellectual level, but emotionally it hasn't really hit you, and when it does, that’s when you feel like s***”(Andrews, 276-277) Throughout the book Greg seems to avoid his feelings about Rachel, and tries to mask them. Many people deny the reality that some of their closest friends and family are sick and could die, and it results in a sudden realization that hits them very hard. This quote really demonstrates the emotional affect that can hurt those that are in relation with those who are affected by …show more content…
Greg explores his own emotions throughout the book and does not fret from expressing them with the reader. As Rachel decides to stop continuing with chemotherapy many of her friends and family take it very bad, especially Greg. “But mostly I was feeling resentful and annoyed. I was resentful at Rachel for deciding to die.”(Andrews. 262) Although this sounds very harsh, it is what most of us would feel in his situation. Greg doesn't try to sugarcoat the situation in hand and deals with the actual, harsh reality that she is close to dying. Closely after that decision she unfortunately goes unconscious and is brought to the hospital to stay. “I really wanted Rachel to wake up. In retrospect, this was stupid and pointless because I had nothing to say to her, but I just wanted to talk to her again.” (Andrews, 276) Greg couldn’t bear the fact that he could not talk to her again in that moment, but even if he could he would have no idea what to say. Once again we see Greg not attempting to glaze the situation at hand, if he hadn’t he would have not mentioned not knowing what to say to her. No matter how pointless he thought it was, he still wanted to talk to her. In today’s society we see so many things being sugarcoated to make it seem less severe, but as much as that can be beneficial, people need to be able to hear the harsh, cold
One of the ways that this book was so relatable to the reader is the characterization used by Jesse Andrews. Near the end of the book as Greg tells us his final thoughts …show more content…
As Greg starts to realize that Rachel is dying he beings to have a lot more inner conflict. “There was something about her dying that I had understood but not really understood… you can know someone is dying on an intellectual level, but emotionally it hasn't really hit you, and when it does, that’s when you feel like s***”(Andrews, 276-277) Throughout the book Greg seems to avoid his feelings about Rachel, and tries to mask them. Many people deny the reality that some of their closest friends and family are sick and could die, and it results in a sudden realization that hits them very hard. This quote really demonstrates the emotional affect that can hurt those that are in relation with those who are affected by …show more content…
Greg explores his own emotions throughout the book and does not fret from expressing them with the reader. As Rachel decides to stop continuing with chemotherapy many of her friends and family take it very bad, especially Greg. “But mostly I was feeling resentful and annoyed. I was resentful at Rachel for deciding to die.”(Andrews. 262) Although this sounds very harsh, it is what most of us would feel in his situation. Greg doesn't try to sugarcoat the situation in hand and deals with the actual, harsh reality that she is close to dying. Closely after that decision she unfortunately goes unconscious and is brought to the hospital to stay. “I really wanted Rachel to wake up. In retrospect, this was stupid and pointless because I had nothing to say to her, but I just wanted to talk to her again.” (Andrews, 276) Greg couldn’t bear the fact that he could not talk to her again in that moment, but even if he could he would have no idea what to say. Once again we see Greg not attempting to glaze the situation at hand, if he hadn’t he would have not mentioned not knowing what to say to her. No matter how pointless he thought it was, he still wanted to talk to her. In today’s society we see so many things being sugarcoated to make it seem less severe, but as much as that can be beneficial, people need to be able to hear the harsh, cold