The Boy Who Faced the Monsters by Seidy

The Boy Who Faced the Monsters by Seidy - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

In Bridge to Terabithia, Jess is a country boy in elementary school who has to deal with the drama that goes on both at school and at home. For starters, his family, especially his dad, doesn’t seem to support him, except for his little sister May Belle who looks up to him. He is a skilled artist and runner who tries his best to impress his father, but he ends up being disappointed every time by the lack of interest and praise from his father. Despite this, he continues to practice what he loves to do best whenever he can. During a school race, he loses against the new girl, Leslie, and eventually ends up becoming close friends with her. Both of them create a magical world called Terabithia where they are free from their problems and are able to bring their imagination to life. While she is alive, Leslie is the force that encourages Jess to pursue his dreams, stand up to the bullies at school, and continue visiting Terabithia. After she unfortunately passes away, Jess is devastated, yet he manages to flip his feelings around by making amends with his father and naming May Belle as the new queen of Terabithia.

Because of all this, Jess became my favorite character from this book. Despite all the obstacles that were thrown his way, he pushed forward and jumped over every single one. No matter how many times he was pushed down by his father and family members, he persevered in life. He was brave enough to become friends with the girl who was seen as being different from the rest and flicked away any criticisms that were thrown at him. He went against society and stood by her side for as long as he could until one point, which he later regretted. Losing a close one is the toughest hardship that anybody has to face, but he was able to get right back up from it and keep her memory alive by bringing his little sister into their world. In addition, he transformed the weakness he felt during this painful experience into courage in order to open up to his father and receive the love and comfort from him that he had wanted his whole life.