The Smoke Jumper includes many characters who are all unique in their own way, making me consider how everyone is so different from each other. Although we interact with people everyday, who are all different in so many ways, we don’t always think about the differences – maybe because it’s a thought that’s so broad or because it’s something very obvious that we don’t even care to think about it.
Mainly through media, we hear many stories about teens being abused, losing hope, losing motivation, and purpose in life. Nicholas Evans included such a character in his novel, and although she’s not a main character in the book, her personality stands out the most. She seems to be one of those people who have something within them that move you. After committing a crime, the judge sends her on a program to help her find who she really is and gain confidence. She starts off as hostile and uncooperative like the others, making me wonder how much hurt you could suffer and what kind of harm you could experience before you start to lose trust and principle in life, which is probably different for all of us, again because we are all different and have different pain tolerance – physically and emotionally. It also leads me to the other side of the thought of how people can do harsh things to others. It is because they themselves have experienced it, or because they are afraid of something and don’t want to show it – or both?
Another character shows a trait that not everyone holds. He was a competitive smoke jumper, a dedicated composer, and a caring friend, and even after losing his sight, he remains to be thoughtful and optimistic, wanting to live life just like before, like nothing happened. Others, however, might have taken it the other way, and let depression take over their lives. Of course he feels depressed, just like anyone would if they were in his position, but he keeps it within himself, not wanting his loved ones and friends to know and get affected by it, thinking it could be a burden to them. I guess this could be seen as something positive and negative – positive if the person can really handle it themselves, helping them to become a better and stronger person, but negative if they keep it inside because they don’t want to seem weak, turning their lives down.
