Letters for Literature: Chris Colfer
Dear Chris Colfer,
In the past week, I read Struck By Lightning, your most recent novel. I must say, the novel actually hit home for me. Carson's level of... Bluntness, shall we say, combined with his biting sarcasm reminded me of myself, a fact that I greatly enjoyed. For example, when he says "I remember my first grade teacher was giving a lesson on subtraction. 'When one thing takes another away, what do we call that?' she asked my class. 'Homicide!' I called out, so proud of myself," I was reminded of a multitude of similar responses I've given teachers over the years. I also appreciate the fact that the main character isn't necessarily the good guy. This novel forces readers to think, to consider their own moral values. Is the good guy really good, and how bad is the bad guy? Was it technically wrong for Carson to blackmail people to write for his magazine when they've treated him like scum on the bottom of their shoes since kindergarten, or was he just doing what he had to do to get into college? Finally, there's the very ironic factor of Carson's college rejection and death at the end that sort of puts it all in perspective. He went to all that trouble only to find out his mother threw away his acceptance letter, and then once things were finally starting to look up he was hit by lightning.
Knowing that this book was largely based on the way you behaved, and the way you wanted to behave, in high school means a lot to teenagers like me. All new forms of entertainment, whether it be modern literature, music, film or television, seems to be aimed towards the teenagers lacking confidence, with low self esteem, scared to reach their goals. This is a novel for the students who watch the Neanderthals of high school and just think 'Gross, teenagers. I'm so glad I never was one.' It's a book for those of us who know what we want, know how to get it, and just couldn't care less what anyone else has to say about it. So Chris Colfer, I commend you on writing the
In the past week, I read Struck By Lightning, your most recent novel. I must say, the novel actually hit home for me. Carson's level of... Bluntness, shall we say, combined with his biting sarcasm reminded me of myself, a fact that I greatly enjoyed. For example, when he says "I remember my first grade teacher was giving a lesson on subtraction. 'When one thing takes another away, what do we call that?' she asked my class. 'Homicide!' I called out, so proud of myself," I was reminded of a multitude of similar responses I've given teachers over the years. I also appreciate the fact that the main character isn't necessarily the good guy. This novel forces readers to think, to consider their own moral values. Is the good guy really good, and how bad is the bad guy? Was it technically wrong for Carson to blackmail people to write for his magazine when they've treated him like scum on the bottom of their shoes since kindergarten, or was he just doing what he had to do to get into college? Finally, there's the very ironic factor of Carson's college rejection and death at the end that sort of puts it all in perspective. He went to all that trouble only to find out his mother threw away his acceptance letter, and then once things were finally starting to look up he was hit by lightning.
Knowing that this book was largely based on the way you behaved, and the way you wanted to behave, in high school means a lot to teenagers like me. All new forms of entertainment, whether it be modern literature, music, film or television, seems to be aimed towards the teenagers lacking confidence, with low self esteem, scared to reach their goals. This is a novel for the students who watch the Neanderthals of high school and just think 'Gross, teenagers. I'm so glad I never was one.' It's a book for those of us who know what we want, know how to get it, and just couldn't care less what anyone else has to say about it. So Chris Colfer, I commend you on writing the