"Tex" Literary Essay

The book “Tex” by S. E. is about Texas McCormick a 15 year old boy living with his older brother Mason in the small town of Garysville. Tex and Mason’s mother died when they were young, and their father leaves them for two months every summer to go to rodeos. One summer, however, he is gone for over five months, until November, leaving Tex and Mason to look after themselves. This situation leaves Tex and Mason with conflict in their lives. When kids have to fend for themselves it can create chaos, and rip apart their lives.

When children have to provide for themselves it can cause them to have to give up aspects of their lives that are very important to them. When Tex and Mason run out of money and have to pay the gas bills they are forced to sell their horses, who are their prized possessions. " ‘I'm going to get my horse back,’ I said ‘Pop wouldn't let you sell those horses if he were here.’ ‘Pop isn't here!’ Mason shouted. ‘Can't you get it through your thick skull that all this happened because Pop isn't here!’ ”  This helps the reader understand how that the absence of their father has changed Tex and Mason’s lives and made them grow up quickly and have to deal with  things that teenagers generally don’t have to deal with.  Having to lose his horse makes Tex feel mad, and upset, and feel very alone. “I couldn’t seem to stop crying. I cried because I was hurting… I cried because Mason had never beaten me up before. Mostly we got along pretty good. Finally I thought about Negrito (Tex’s horse) being gone, and Pop being gone and I bawled like a baby.” Tex and Mason really depend on their father to take care of things as most adolesents do, and when they have to survive without him it causes conflict and upset in their lives. When parents aren’t present it causes kids to grow up more quickly than they should and to give up things that are important to them.

When parents are gone it can cause kids to feel estranged, but when parents return kids may accept them back into their family. One day Tex and Mason reflect on how long their father has been gone, “It doesn’t seem that long ago. He’s only been gone five (months) I guess he’ll be coming home pretty soon now.” This quote helps the reader to see how although Pop’s absence has been tough on them they still love him, and will accept them right back into their family.  When Tex and Mason’s father returns to them Tex remarks at how alienated the father seems to be. “Pop was a completely separate person from us. I don’t know exactly how to explain it.  He was just the same as he always was, but he was unconnected. Almost like he was a visitor.” This shows the reader how although Tex welcomes back his father, he feels as if he is not as constant in his life. It helps the reader how Pop’s absence has affected the boys emotionally not just physically. When parent’s aren’t present it will separate them from their kids not just physically, but also emotionally, and even though the kids may still love them it will further divide a family.

 Although when Tex, and Mason’s father returns they accept him back into their family, they still feel tension between them. Mason feels completely betrayed by Pop, and isn’t willing to accept him into the family as quickly as Tex is. When Tex pulls a prank at school and Pop doesn’t make a big deal about it Mason feels that Pop is being irresponsible. “Then think about me! For God’s sake, how do you think I feel seeing you being ‘nice’ to him like you’d be ‘nice’ to a goddamn stray puppy! While I’m the one who has to look out for him and what’s going to happen when I’m not here?” The reader can see Masons uncertainty about Pop in the way he explodes. It is clear that Pop’s absence has been really hard for Mason and Tex, and it has affected them majorly. Mason continues to feel upset with Pop when Pop is surprised that they had to sell their horses because they needed money. “I know you never thought about the money. The good-sized hunk shrunk real quick when Tex fractured his arm last May and we didn’t have any insurance. We both had jobs, yeah. Summer jobs. It hasn’t been summer for a while now. And whether you planned it or not, you’ve been gone this long.” This helps the reader to understand how hard Pop being gone has been for Mason. It shows that although the boys love Pop there is still hesitation about him being back and whether or not they can trust him. Even when parents return tension, and division between the parents and kids still lingers.  

Kids tend to depend on their parents, and when their parents are gone it can be really tough on them emotionally, mentally, and physically. When Pop leaves Mason and Tex for an extended period of time it really affects them, and turns their lives upside down. I could never imagine what my life would be without my mom, it really goes to show that sometimes it’s hard to appreciate what you have until it’s gone.

"Boy 21" Synthesis Page

Here's an old synthesis page that I forgot to post!

"Ready Player One" Essay

When people are feeling glum or isolated, we often find comfort in electronic activities. They're a place where you can distract yourself with something or someone else. Picture it, you're feeling particularly upset, and there seems to be no cure, except to sit in front of the T.V. and munch on your favorite snack, while getting absorbed by the make believe lives presented on screen. This is a familiar scene for many people. Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One” is the story of Wade, a boy in his teens in a dystopian 2044, who spends most of his days on the OASIS an online virtual world, where there are no limits (literally!) It’s not only Wade who spends his time on the OASIS, but practically the entire population. When the creator of the OASIS passes away, a contest to find a virtual easter egg hidden within the game is announced. The winner of this competition will inherit his multi billion dollar savings. Wade is among one of the many people who is searching for the easter egg. Wade spends all of his time on the internet, not just trying to find the easter egg, but escaping his bleak reality. The internet has become a comfort for Wade, and many people, when the world is just too harsh, and tough to bear, and he learns that the attraction of the internet can be hard to beat although he eventually does.

         Throughout the book we see how completely immersed Wade has become in the virtual world. Wade is constantly on the internet, and doesn’t partake in any other activities, including lots of activities that we would consider a part of our everyday lives. For example Wade goes to school in the OASIS, “My avatar materialized in front of my locker on the second floor of my high school... I glanced up and down the hallway. My virtual surroundings looked almost (but not quite) real. Everything in the OASIS was beautifully rendered in three dimensions.” (Pg 27) This lets the reader know how virtualized the world is, and how limited human contact is. It also suggests at what our world may become, and what it seems it's already started to become. In addition almost all exchanges with people are online, and all of Wade’s friends he only knows through the internet, and not in real life. This shows that Wade lives his life almost entirely online. This also makes us see how widespread the obsession with the online world has become. Throughout the book we see how electronic the world has become.

         When Wade feels alone, and isolated from human contact, he seeks refuge in the OASIS. Wade doesn’t have any friends from real life, but only from the OASIS, including his best friend Aech. “Despite what I’d said to Aech, knowing that I was about to meet him in person after all these years made me more nervous than I already wanted to admit. (pg 320)” This shows how Wade feels alone, and spends all of his time on the internet, because he has never had any friends in his ‘real’ life. In addition the quote “Being human totally sucks most of the time. Video games are the only thing that make life bearable. (pg 10)” is an almost literal translation of the previous statement that ‘when reality is too hard to bear, people often go to the internet for comfort.’ This informs the reader that because Wade has never had the opportunity to really connect with others off the internet, or while he hasn’t been online, he feels that being human “totally sucks most of the time.” When people find that reality is too hard to bear they often try to escape reality on the internet.

         Although the internet may be a temporary solution for one’s unhappiness, fake connections will never beat real ones. This is shown after Wade meets his long time virtual best friend Aech, and begins to feel the joys of a face to face relationship. “ 'Are we going to meet them now?’ I asked, doing an extremely poor job of hiding my apprehension.” This shows growth in Wade, because he realizes that going on the internet may have been a fun pass time, but actually being with others, and seeing your friends in real life is much better. The idea that real connections over weigh electronic ones become clear to Wade, after he wins the easter egg contest. After he has won he is taught a lesson by a pre programed avatar of the creator of the OASIS “ ‘I created the OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world. I didn’t know how to connect with the people there. I was afraid, for all of my life. Right up until I knew it was ending. That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real. Do you understand?’ ” This shows that Wade may fully be able to have a life that isn’t filled with the superficial/ temporary happiness that is brought to him from being constantly online. It can be confusing and difficult to make, and keep relationships with people, because real people are complicated and we can't control each other. Although the real world may have ups, and downs, it also will make us feel true emotion, and that is something that is hard to really feel from electronic activities.

         When people feel overwhelmed with their real lives, they can escape reality by going online, and they often do. This may be a seemingly fun remedy, but as is shown in Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One” the happiness that is gotten from living in a virtual world ultimately doesn't measure up to the happiness that is gotten through real relationships. Talking to people, and forming bonds that exist in the real world, are better than letting the internet become our real world. The society we live in today is so electronically oriented, and it seems that we are going in the direction of a world where our online connections outweigh our real ones. Earnest Cline's "Ready Player One" reminds us, that although reality can be rough, it's real, and it's the only place where we will find true happiness. The next time it may seem easier to escape to the internet instead of being in reality, ask yourself if you're just trying to avoid living in the real world around you.