Golden Line + Question

[Jhoselyn]

The golden line that I found was is in page 18 and reads “It wasn’t all his mum’s fault. Sometimes he was weird just because of who he was, rather than what she did”. I consider this a golden line based on the character, Marcus, because it reveals a lot about him. It shows that his mother has played a major role in him decisions. Now I question if he is “who he is” because of the choices he has made with the influence of his mother? Or is he “who he is” based on his own choices. When Hornby writes “it wasn’t all his mum’s fault”, is Hornby saying Marcus mother is to blame for Marcus’s actions towards school? This situation reminds me a lot of Perks and the theme of coming of age.

Question:
Would the novel be the same with out Marcus? How?

[Viviana]

I believe that Marcus is how he is for now. Later on the book you will see how his mother's actions and emotions will affect and question Marcus. I agree with you of the theme: coming of age, because through the book there will be characters that comment him and question him inappropriately and he is just innocent and does not know what it is. Also, Marcus is seen as shy and a quiet young boy who joins a SPAT group ( you'll read what it means) and has a single mother who goes through stuff. ( you'll know what I'm talking about further in the book.)