Running on Empty
Ethan Palmer is a teenager living in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his father and sister. The death of his mother has caused Ethan’s personality to significantly change and resulted in him struggling throughout high school. To cope with his mother’s death, Ethan uses his passion for muscle cars to escape his reality and suppress his feelings of anger. Throughout the story, Ethan has several confrontations with his father regarding the direction of his life, crashes his car and struggles to pay for the damages. The purpose of the essay is to describe how several life changing events have changed Ethan’s personality.
Throughout the initial stages of the story Ethan can be described as aggressive, dishonest and self centered. than …show more content…
Ethan was eventually portrayed as an individual who is still caring and loyal.Hornsby told Ethan that the most efficient method of making money is by “(The best way to make money is buy low and sell high) (190) Ethan didn’t know what that meant, so Hornsby explained , (what i’m talking about is gambling) (190). Once Ethan was introduced to gambling, he would act impulsively by consistently betting, despite losing. He wouldn’t consider the consequences of betting, as his addiction eventually resulted in him gambling his paychecks.When Ethan was introduced to gambling, he would act impulsively by consistently betting, despite incurring significant losses. He wouldn’t consider the consequences of betting, as his addiction eventually resulted in him gambling his paychecks.Even when Ethan was aware of the potential consequences, he believed that when he did win, he would get enough to resolve his debts. “When I finally win one game, then I can pay for the repairs and have some for myself” …show more content…
Ethan was hesitant when shooting the manager of the store, displaying Ethan’s compassion for others. “I can’t I'm too nervous to do shoot” (309) His compassion for the manager led Hornsby to threaten to the kill the manager. In an attempt to kill him, Raye who was at the store without Ethans knowledge, tried to prevent the shooting. As a result, Raye was caught in the crossfire and got shot. Ethan immediately cared for his sister “I’m sorry Raye, I never meant for you to get shot. This is all my fault” (313), portraying his compassionate personality. Ethan had to make the decision to either save his sister or take the money that would resolve his debts. Ethan abandoned Hornsby and the money and aided his sister “ it's my time to help you now”(313).Hornsby than drove him to a convenience store where he told Ethan `` we are going to do a robbery here `` (308). Finally this is where Ethan became loyal. The robbery got stop when Ethan couldn't shoot a gun at the manger of the store but his sister tried to help Ethan by hit Hornsby with a stick, where she then got shot by Hornsby. Ethan had to make a choice between helping his sister or going with Hornsby with the money that they rob, but he ended up helping his sister. Ethan told his sister that `` it's my time to help you now`` (313) Ethan knew that there are more things to love about than just keep trying to
Ethan Palmer is a teenager living in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his father and sister. The death of his mother has caused Ethan’s personality to significantly change and resulted in him struggling throughout high school. To cope with his mother’s death, Ethan uses his passion for muscle cars to escape his reality and suppress his feelings of anger. Throughout the story, Ethan has several confrontations with his father regarding the direction of his life, crashes his car and struggles to pay for the damages. The purpose of the essay is to describe how several life changing events have changed Ethan’s personality.
Throughout the initial stages of the story Ethan can be described as aggressive, dishonest and self centered. than …show more content…
Ethan was eventually portrayed as an individual who is still caring and loyal.Hornsby told Ethan that the most efficient method of making money is by “(The best way to make money is buy low and sell high) (190) Ethan didn’t know what that meant, so Hornsby explained , (what i’m talking about is gambling) (190). Once Ethan was introduced to gambling, he would act impulsively by consistently betting, despite losing. He wouldn’t consider the consequences of betting, as his addiction eventually resulted in him gambling his paychecks.When Ethan was introduced to gambling, he would act impulsively by consistently betting, despite incurring significant losses. He wouldn’t consider the consequences of betting, as his addiction eventually resulted in him gambling his paychecks.Even when Ethan was aware of the potential consequences, he believed that when he did win, he would get enough to resolve his debts. “When I finally win one game, then I can pay for the repairs and have some for myself” …show more content…
Ethan was hesitant when shooting the manager of the store, displaying Ethan’s compassion for others. “I can’t I'm too nervous to do shoot” (309) His compassion for the manager led Hornsby to threaten to the kill the manager. In an attempt to kill him, Raye who was at the store without Ethans knowledge, tried to prevent the shooting. As a result, Raye was caught in the crossfire and got shot. Ethan immediately cared for his sister “I’m sorry Raye, I never meant for you to get shot. This is all my fault” (313), portraying his compassionate personality. Ethan had to make the decision to either save his sister or take the money that would resolve his debts. Ethan abandoned Hornsby and the money and aided his sister “ it's my time to help you now”(313).Hornsby than drove him to a convenience store where he told Ethan `` we are going to do a robbery here `` (308). Finally this is where Ethan became loyal. The robbery got stop when Ethan couldn't shoot a gun at the manger of the store but his sister tried to help Ethan by hit Hornsby with a stick, where she then got shot by Hornsby. Ethan had to make a choice between helping his sister or going with Hornsby with the money that they rob, but he ended up helping his sister. Ethan told his sister that `` it's my time to help you now`` (313) Ethan knew that there are more things to love about than just keep trying to