Throughout the duration of the book, Brent’s decisions lead to some very poor results. Right off the bat, his life is shown to be overrun by choices and decisions -- How long should he wait to leave for Chaz’s party? What clothes should he wear? Should he approach Brianna? However, his worst decision, by far, was choosing to take his hands off the steering wheel to kill himself. Needless to say, that was a completely ignorant and and self-serving choice. Brent did not pause for even one second to think about the lives of everyone else on the highway with him. He was so caught up in ending his own pain that he did not even consider the possibility of passing the pain onto someone else -- in this case, the Zamora family. “There’s no need
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His task was to build four whirligigs across the country, Lea’s favorite childhood toy; this was the effect of killing Lea. As the book continues, the whirligig is a constant symbol for the concept of cause and effect. Building the wind toys would result in the spread of happiness: “‘Let people all over the country receive joy from her [Lea] even though she’s gone. You [Brent] make the smiles that she would have made’” (Fleischman 41). Additionally, Alexandra and Stephanie from Weeksboro, Maine aced an algebra test and found a boyfriend, respectively, because of the whirligig’s “powers.” In Miami, Florida, Flaco the street-sweeper came to terms with everyone’s constant arguing after seeing the marching band toy. Furthermore, from Bellevue, Washington, Anthony was able to quit his dreaded violin lessons after he coming in contact with the whirligig. Lastly, in San Diego, California, Jenny and her grandmother finally found closure with the help of the whirligig. In contrast to Brent’s poor decision, our actions can actually result in positive consequences. Throwing away someone’s forgotten trash can lead to less litter, and help clean up the environment. Also, holding the door open for a disabled or elderly person will often result in a grateful smile or “Thank you.” All in all, Brent did make some horrific choices, but he redeemed himself through the
His task was to build four whirligigs across the country, Lea’s favorite childhood toy; this was the effect of killing Lea. As the book continues, the whirligig is a constant symbol for the concept of cause and effect. Building the wind toys would result in the spread of happiness: “‘Let people all over the country receive joy from her [Lea] even though she’s gone. You [Brent] make the smiles that she would have made’” (Fleischman 41). Additionally, Alexandra and Stephanie from Weeksboro, Maine aced an algebra test and found a boyfriend, respectively, because of the whirligig’s “powers.” In Miami, Florida, Flaco the street-sweeper came to terms with everyone’s constant arguing after seeing the marching band toy. Furthermore, from Bellevue, Washington, Anthony was able to quit his dreaded violin lessons after he coming in contact with the whirligig. Lastly, in San Diego, California, Jenny and her grandmother finally found closure with the help of the whirligig. In contrast to Brent’s poor decision, our actions can actually result in positive consequences. Throwing away someone’s forgotten trash can lead to less litter, and help clean up the environment. Also, holding the door open for a disabled or elderly person will often result in a grateful smile or “Thank you.” All in all, Brent did make some horrific choices, but he redeemed himself through the