Argumentative Essay - Looking for Jj
Can people change?
Is it possible for people to make a fresh start after doing something horrible? Will a criminal who has committed a serious crime ever be able to change if given a chance to start over with a clean state? Those are the questions that Alice Tully, the main character of one of Anne Cassidy’s novels, keeps asking herself. The novel is a great example of it being possible, with the author making it easy for us to understand Alice’s case.
“Three children walked away from the edge of town one day – but only two of them came back…” is the sentence written at the backside of Anne Cassidy’s book called Looking for JJ. This one sentence provides information about what the book is about and the instant we read it, it makes us intrigued.
While reading the book, we gradually learn about Alice’s dangerous past as Jennifer Jones, finding out that she killed another child. Through flashbacks, we get an insight into the Berwick Waters’s case and Jennifer’s childhood. Cassidy doesn’t make it difficult for us to see Jennifer's pre-school adoration of her gorgeous mother, her fear of being abandoned and finally, the more mature Jennifer learning to cope on her own. Her relationship with the bossy, arrogant Michelle and the shy, mouse-like Lucy is also very well shown.
Knowing about Alice’s past makes it so much easier for me to understand why she committed a murder. I’m not saying that what she did was right because obviously, it wasn’t. However, the framework of sadness and abandonment built by the author makes the crime more plausible and therefore, it makes it possible for me to sympathize with Alice/Jennifer.
But going back to the questions, first of all, I believe that it’s possible for everyone to start afresh, even people who have committed the most horrific crimes. In my opinion, everyone can change because it’s only up to us what we decide to do with our lives. Every person can choose between right and wrong, despite all the factors that
Is it possible for people to make a fresh start after doing something horrible? Will a criminal who has committed a serious crime ever be able to change if given a chance to start over with a clean state? Those are the questions that Alice Tully, the main character of one of Anne Cassidy’s novels, keeps asking herself. The novel is a great example of it being possible, with the author making it easy for us to understand Alice’s case.
“Three children walked away from the edge of town one day – but only two of them came back…” is the sentence written at the backside of Anne Cassidy’s book called Looking for JJ. This one sentence provides information about what the book is about and the instant we read it, it makes us intrigued.
While reading the book, we gradually learn about Alice’s dangerous past as Jennifer Jones, finding out that she killed another child. Through flashbacks, we get an insight into the Berwick Waters’s case and Jennifer’s childhood. Cassidy doesn’t make it difficult for us to see Jennifer's pre-school adoration of her gorgeous mother, her fear of being abandoned and finally, the more mature Jennifer learning to cope on her own. Her relationship with the bossy, arrogant Michelle and the shy, mouse-like Lucy is also very well shown.
Knowing about Alice’s past makes it so much easier for me to understand why she committed a murder. I’m not saying that what she did was right because obviously, it wasn’t. However, the framework of sadness and abandonment built by the author makes the crime more plausible and therefore, it makes it possible for me to sympathize with Alice/Jennifer.
But going back to the questions, first of all, I believe that it’s possible for everyone to start afresh, even people who have committed the most horrific crimes. In my opinion, everyone can change because it’s only up to us what we decide to do with our lives. Every person can choose between right and wrong, despite all the factors that