Lesson 2, Assignment 1 (POV)

Lesson 2, Assignment 1

1. Hairdos of the Mildly Depressed by Doug Crandell
http://www.amazon.com/Hairdos-Mildly-Depressed-Doug-Crandell/dp/0753513781
(see this site to read the first chapter)

2. The POV character is Brad Orville.
His brother, Compton Orville is the other major character in this book.

3.

“I found Jesus. She’s changed my life.” Compton Orville propped his good hand on the wooden fence, leaning to get the weight off his weak side.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to call her Mary or Madonna?” Brad was grasping at the meaning but fell short, again.

“No, No, No, Half Pint,” Compton said, trying to get his point across.

Brad leaned in to brace Compton when he nearly lost his balance shifting his weight.
Compton knew Brad pitied him but frailty of body, to Compton, was not nearly as pitiful as frailty of imagination.

“She isn’t her own mother. She’s not the mother of Jesus; she is Jesus.” Compton took a deep breath and just shook his head in frustration. “You need to talk with Jesus, Half Pint. She could do you some good.”

4.

The story was somewhat different in that the reader might start off seeing Brad as the pitiful one rather than his brother. In the story, Brad is the “caretaker” of his brother who had an accident years before and had some brain injury limiting his short term memory and weakening one side of his body. However, he was, as a child, better looking and still had much better hair-he had hair for that matter. So, seeing his point of view would definitely take the story in a different directions but I think Compton is okay with who he is, even with his flaws so I’m not sure what the driving force would be for him. Its Brad who is coveting other people’s hair and thinking he isn’t good enough (so overdoing it to prove he is and looking like a jerk).

I think the scene was emphasized less because the whole point of the first scene is to show Compton’s flaws from Brad’s perspective. But it is obvious in this passage above (reworked) that Brad has some definite inner flaws also.