The body reading journal #3

Reading Journal #3 of “The body”

<Final thoughts about “The body”>

16^th waver 10b1 Seung Jun Kim

             After I finished reading the book, I made a small grin. Why? It was because I was pretty glad about how those four boys acquired maturity that will last for their rest of their lives (although three of them die). Maturity is something that cannot be acquired easily especially in the modern day world where there are parents running hastily around to do everything for their kids.  

             This is how the world looks like: “Mom, what should I do next?”

“You go to the English private academy at 2 o’clock and return at 6 o’clock. After that, you take a shower and eat dinner. Next, you have to prepare for your first math class you’ll have tomorrow.”

“What? I didn’t even know I was going to a math private academy...”

“You are a teenager. You don’t know what’s important and what’s not. I make decisions for you and the only thing you have to do is to follow them.”

“Mom, but...”

“Be a grown up boy, Sam! You should learn how to obey your parents. Parents know what’s best for you!”

             At first, this piece of dialogue seems very far-fetched, but unfortunately, this is the reality of our society. Kids are not allowed to think about their own life and they never encounter hardships in their lives because their parents are getting rid of the obstacles before their children face them. However, the four boys were different. They knew how to control their lives, they understood how things should be done, and finally they worried about their own future (although these things happened not because their parents educated the four boys to be independent, but rather because the disregard of the parents towards them inevitably forced them to be independent). So let’s look at some the thoughts that came up to my mind after reading this book.

             To begin with, I believe good friendship contributed greatly to the development of maturity within these four kids. The relationship between Criss and Gordie was especially encouraging. Throughout the journey, Criss constantly encourages Gordie to become a great writer. In response, Gordie solaces Criss about the unfortunate milk money incident. This kind of mutual cooperation continued on even after the disunion of the four kids. Despite the derogatory and hostile attitudes of the surrounding people, Criss was never discouraged because Gordie was always there for him to give great advice. On the other hand, Criss was always beside Gordie to heal the emotional scars within Gordie’s soul by making peace. Eventually, Criss and Gordie achieved their goal of self-realization by becoming a lawyer and writer respectively.

             Moreover, I believe there were some really good symbolic entities that greatly contributed to the overall atmosphere of the story. The deer, for example, represents purity and innocence. In the book, Gordie states that the experience of seeing the deer was the best and cleanest part of the journey. By evoking feminine and delicate feeling within Gordie’s mind, I believe the deer was effective in portraying the process of how Gordie’s scar was healing from the scars of Castle Rock. Also, I believe the train symbolizes the societal pressures and corruption of Castle Rock. According to the societal prejudice of Castle Rock, Criss is expected to become a bad boy and Teddy is considered to be a “son of a loony” no matter what he does. These societal moulds are very difficult to pulverize. I believe the scene where the train almost ran over Vern and Gordie, represents how the boys eventually escapes from the malicious society of Castle Rock and acquire maturity. 

             Lastly, I was pretty disappointed by the sad ending of the story. It would have been much better if all the four boys were alive and lived happily ever after. The sad ending sharply contrasted to the movie I once saw called, “Coach Carter”. The movie was about a black basketball coach who eventually succeeds in making the basketball players of the school to lead a better life. At first, this task seems very difficult for coach Carter because most of the boys in the basketball team were addicted to drugs, sex and they didn’t have any will to study whatsoever. However, all the indulgent boys are touched by the devotion of their coach, Carter and finally make up their minds to transform their lives. In the end of the movie, the narrator describes how most of the boys turned out to be successful in their lives. One became an officer in the Bank of America, another became a famous basketball coach of NBA and some other dudes became good businessmen. I believe same goes with “The body”. If Stephen King had changed the ending by allowing all the boys to be alive and to lead a wonderful life in the end of the book, the theme of maturity would have been more effectively portrayed. However, overall, I loved both the book and the film J 

"Stand by me, Gordie."

Thank you for such a good book and film, Mr. King :)