Cayla
Nardiello 808
Everyone is different in his or her own special way, even if it is
hidden most of the time. In the amazing story, ‘Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow
Rowell, Eleanor is the
new girl with the crazy red hair and the strange clothes, with a dark family
secret. Park is the quiet Asian boy who tries to avoid bringing attention to
himself. That is, until he meets Eleanor, and while neither has a perfect life,
they manage to find misfit love for each other. I
think the theme of the story is about how you should always be accepted for who
you are, even if only one person truly appreciates you.
People that truly love you will
accept you for who you are. One example of this is “Eleanor was right. She never looked nice.
She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to
make you feel something.” This shows that Park truly does love Eleanor, not for
what she looked like; which is what she was judged on by other kids, but for
who she really was, on the inside. Another example of acceptance is where it
says; “Park didn’t know
that anyone with red hair could have brown eyes… The new girl’s eyes were
darker than his mom’s, really dark, almost like holes in her face. That made it
sound bad, but it wasn’t. It might even be the best thing about her.” This
shows us that while other people mocked Eleanor for being who she was, Park
found beauty in what others might have teased her about.
People
might put you down for who you are. One example of this is; “If his dad knew he
was thinking like this, he’d call Park a pussy. Out loud, for once. If his
grandma knew, she’d smack him on the back of the head.” This shows that Park is
used to being treated like this, and he fears what will happen if he stand up
for himself. Another example of this is when girls at gym make fun of Eleanor; “‘Red
isn’t your color, Bozo,’ Tina had said the first time Eleanor suited up. The
other girls all laughed, even the black girls, who hated Tina. Laughing at
Eleanor was Dr. King’s mountain.” this means that Eleanor kept feeling a
‘mountain of despair’ when people made fun of her, she couldn’t tolerate it,
especially with an abusive step-dad at home.
In all, having parents who don’t love
or really don’t understand you makes you more desperate for real love, from
someone who does understand what you are going through. Someone who won’t judge
you when you express how you feel, because they know what you are going
through, because it has happened to them, too. And if only one person gets you
for who you are, it makes you feel more accepted in life, it makes you feel
better about yourself; that someone, even if it is just one person, loves you
for who you really are.