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Daniella Trevino

Professor Williams

Writing 2

9 October 2019

PB1B

The novel Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson is in the genre of realistic fiction. The main character Lia and her best friend Cassie both suffered from eating disorders and when Cassie ends up dying Lia must both deal with the death of someone who was close to her but also her mental health disorder. The purpose of this book is to get the message across of both how a mental health disorder like anorexia can impact someone and their loved ones. The book though is also meant to be a form of entertainment in that the main character has this "problem" and Lia has no intention of "solving her problem" so the reader then becomes interested in what will happen to her.

The intended audience for a realistic novel, in general, is very broad. But this book specifically may better suit someone who wants to understand what living with a mental health disorder is like and see how that person who is struggling overcomes it. Another intended reader for this novel could be anyone who has been impacted by an eating disorder whether they have personally dealt with it or not. The audience that the author is targeting also ties in with the purpose because the message itself is for the reader.

The passage that best exemplifies this is when Lia is saying "I want to go to sleep and not wake up, but I don't want to die. I want to eat like a normal person eats, but I need to see my bones or I will hate myself even more and I might cut my heart out or take every pill that was ever made". This particular passage shows what is going through Lia's mind which is a very real possibility of what someone with anorexia could be thinking. This also contributes to the message of the novel as a whole because it gives the reader a better understanding of mental health disorders and its impact.

The tone of the novel is depressing and somewhat emotionless. It is depressing in that Lia is going through a very difficult part of her life and doesn't fully see just how negatively it is impacting her mental health and those around her. But in a way, it is emotionless in the sense that she doesn't allow herself to fully feel her emotionless. Through Anderson creating these tones, it is revealed to the reader how Lia is simply going through the motions of life and not being present in the moment. These tones are also realistic in that these are the "moods" that someone who is suffering from their mental health could go through so it is fitting for the novel.

If Wintergirls would not have been in the genre of realistic fiction, likely, the message would not have come across as strong. In other words, if the genre would have been fiction and included some sort of magic, that could have been a distraction to the reader thus not allowing them to get the full scope of the novel. Realistic fiction is the best genre that it could have been in because of how "real" the story is. With it being in this category it could also appeal to the seriousness of the situation of just how big of an effect this mental health disorder has on not only the person who has it but those who love them.

Comments

  1. CostelloBlogW2October 12, 2019 at 6:04 PM

    Firstly, I would like to say that I think it is very impressive that you read an entire novel to use as a specific example for your Project Builder and I assume for your Writing Project as a whole. I personally don’t think I would even have the time or motivation to do that, so I commend you. I also think that your topic of mental health disorders is a great topic to use for your project. Your point about how the audience may be more directly pointed towards those who have lived with mental health issues radiates with me, because I know what it is like to live with people that are suffering with mental health disorders. I agree with this assessment. If a book is mainly focused around someone with a mental health disorder, people who have never experienced something related may not understand the troubles that the main character is going through. I know many people who belittle mental illness, and if someone like that were to read this book, they might feel as though it is an exaggeration. People who have personally been affected by mental illness will most definitely relate to this novel more than those who have not.

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  2. Tina YuOctober 14, 2019 at 12:17 PM

    I really like the topic you choose which is a mental health disorder, I think it is a really interesting topic. I also like how you point out specific target audiences who might want to read this book, and you also explain the reason why they want to read this book and what information they hope to get from this book. Also, I like how you connect the quotation with the target audience, which allows me to better understand why those people would be the target audiences. However, I hope to see more analysis about how your example can give information to different target audiences. Also, I think it would be better if you have more explanations about the purpose. For example, you talked about the purpose of this book is to tell how a mental health disorder can impact someone and their loved ones, then do you have some example to show how it impacts?

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