Chase:
Chase Jessup is the older brother out of his brother Gordie but sure does not act like it. Chase is constantly asking his brother for money because of his drug addiction to crystal meth. He is hardly ever home but is destroying the lives of his family. He drained the his family emotionally and financially. Chase always finds a way to get money from his family even if he has to make up a complete lie. To sum up Chase's personality, he is a persuasive, irresponsible and destructive drug addict.
The first character trait to describe Chase is persuasive. Chase always has a way to convince his family to give him money for his drugs, like saying he needs it for food or clothes. Chase always tries coming up with reasons to give him money for the 'last' time. Like when he needed to pay back his dealers or they'd kill him and Gordie would not help him. Until Chase said "I didn't know what I was doing. Please, Gordie, if you can help me out this one time, I'll straighten out. I'll go back to school. Mom and Dad will keep the house, and it will all be okay" (41). He had convinced Gordie to give him $2000 to pay back his dealers, but he paid off $500 and used the rest to get high. Chase is very convincing and uses his persuasive skills towards getting his drugs.
The next personality trait of Chase is irresponsible. This trait sort of blends in with the trait of being persuasive because of how he finds a way to get his money and then just blows it away in drugs. He does not know how to handle money in a responsible because he is always coming back asking for money from his family. Chase runs out of money through drugs so fast that he contacts his mother who is extremely fragile and knows that he can get anything from her. "Mom has been meeting Chase and giving him money" (122). He had been calling his mom each week and burning through money like nothing. Chase is never home and just spends his families money on unnecessary drugs, he is the perfect definition of irresponsible.
The last trait to introduce the character Chase is destructive. Chase is literally destroying the lives of his own family. He causes them all to be miserable and he does not care or see what he is doing to them. He has torn them all apart and is the reason to all problems in his family's lives. He even broke into his own house and destroyed everything to find something that is worth some money for drugs. "The destruction is erratic, and it would have required a huge amount of strength to shatter and overturn some of the things he did" (111).
In conclusion, Chase had ruined his family's life and made it a living hell. It was kind of sad, but kind of a good thing that he died because there would be no more loss with money. Chase was a persuading, irresponsible, destructive, drug addicting son.
Gordie:
Gordie Jessup is the younger brother but is for sure the more mature sibling. He respects his parents and goes to school everyday, trying to his fullest ability. He is in an organized band and likes a girl named Jade who's mother is in the hospital and Gordie treats her very good and respects her a lot. So Gordie has a busy, good life outside of home. Gordie is a very good responsible young man that cares enormously for others and their life but does not like to be in much contact with his drug addicted brother so much.
The first trait I am using to describe Gordie's personality is responsible. Gordie does not have any drug problems like his brother which could be difficult to avoid because of how close in age they are. He works daily and knows how to save his money. Gordie is responsible of saving up $2000 so that he could fix his brothers problems with the dealers and get him back on track but handles it very maturely. "When I have it you'll pay the whole thing off at once. And I'm going with you. Don't think I'll just hand you two thousand dollars and watch you walk out the door. I might as well throw it into a strong wind off the Lion's Gate Bridge" (65). Gordie does a tremendous thing saving up for his drugged brother which is so considerate because of how much damage Chase has done to their lives. Gordie is a mature, responsible young boy.
Gordie is also extremely caring and it stands out in the story. I can use the example I used for the first trait about him trying to save his brother from the dealers and that he just spent so much time and money to help. He also cares a lot about this girl he works with, Jade. Jade's mother has a disease and is in the hospital and she is going through a lot but Gordie helps her and stays by her side. Gordie also went and visited the man that his brother had put in the hospital. When he had visited he had saw a drawing of unicorns the man's daughter had giving him to wake up to. "I pull out the unicorn from my backpack and place it on the bedside table beneath the drawings" (34). He had bought a stuffed unicorn for the little girl. Gordie is never just thinking of himself, he is always thinking of what he can do that can help others or make them feel better.
A third quality to finish of Gordie's character traits is separated. Gordie is not very close with his family after what his brother has done. His brother separated them all from each other and Gordie wants nothing to do with him. "I don't want anything to do with your psycho friends. Do you hear me?" (40). Gordie has completely drifted away from his brother and parents, like at the end of the book they could hardly speak to each other and then, Chase died. There family was completely torn apart but they had to start from scratch without a member of the family. Gordie and his family were separated in ways but they still lived under the same roof.
To conclude this character sketch of Gordie, he loved the members of his family, like most families, and respected them all. Even if they were hardcore drug addicts or helping the person who was ruining the family. Gordie is an extremely respectful, caring and separated boy of a weird family.
Plot Diagram
Exposition: Two brothers growing up at one year age difference. As the older brother Chase grows up, he is away from the house for longer periods.
Rising Action: Chase gets into drugs and becomes meth addict. He is constantly stealing, asking for help from his parents and his brother Gordie. He is terribly desperate for money. He hurts a man severely while on drugs.
Climax: The man that was badly injured ends up dying and Chase was responsible for it. The police search for Chase but they cannot find him. Chase breaks into his family's house and destroys most properties but is not caught also not turning himself in making things a bigger mess.
Falling Action: . The family is falling apart and frustrated with Chase vanishing. Chase tries to escape by stealing a stranger's car but does not succeed and swallowed a large amount of drugs causing his eyes roll to the back of his head and stop breathing.
Resolution: Chase was in critical condition but ends up dying. Gordie and his dad move into a two bedroom apartment while his mom goes back to live with her parents to help her move on from her sons death.
Map
Interview
5 questions:
1. Who are the main characters of the story?
2. What's the plot of the story?
3. What drug is included within this story?
4. Does Gordie or Chase have anybody special in their life (boyfriend/girlfriend)
5. Why was the family so frustrated with each other
5 answers
1. The main characters of this story are Gordie and Chase.
2. The plot of this story is the life of a family that is slowly being torn apart by the son Chase who is addicted to drugs and is draining his own family
3. Crystal meth is the drug that the son Chase is addicted to
4. Chase has crystal meth who means a lot to him and he's miserable when he is away from it and Gordie likes this young girl named Jade who he works with and cares for.
5. The Jessup family is so frustrated because of their meth addicted son Chase. He has caused the family to become broke and they have no choice but to sell the house, all because of their son.
Poster
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