Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock Theme(s) - Coggle Diagram

- - - - As we see in the book, when it comes time to shoot Asher, Leonard’s main reason is revealed. He wants to kill Asher Beal because of what he had done to Leonard. Because of what Asher did, Leonard was not really able to trust or reach out to anybody else afterwards. Even when he tried to tell his mother, she brushed it off (Quick 188). This secured his issues in trusting others.
      - In an article by heretohelp.bc.ca titled “ Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Mental Health Issue”, it discusses how sexual abuse during childhood can affect the child later on in life, and ways to help. “ Some adult survivors experience few mental health problems, while others experience many mental health problems. Abuse is a kind of trauma. Trauma is a situation that’s shocking, intense and distressing.” (Canadian Mental Health Asscoiation 1). They also mention the factors that come together that are the reason(s) for the effects experienced by survivors. They are as follows:
        
        “The amount of any kind of trauma you previously experienced” (Canadian Mental Health Asscoiation 1)
        
        “The severity of the trauma” (Canadian Mental Health Asscoiation 1)
        
        “How close you were to the person who abused you” (Canadian Mental Health Asscoiation 1)
        
        How long the abuse lasted” (Canadian Mental Health Asscoiation 1)
        
        “How people you trusted reacted to the abuse, if you told them—did they believe you and support you or dismiss you?” (Canadian Mental Health Asscoiation 1)
        
        If we were to apply these factors for Leonard, they would be something like this:
        1) He experienced sexual abuse involving rape
        2) The trauma has left very lasting impressions, goings so far as to hinder the victims ability to function around others, be a large reason for his trust and mental issues and even cause his reasoning to be inaccurate
        3) Leonard’s abuser was his best-friend and only friend at the time, Asher, so they were very close
        4) The abuse lasted for about two years
        5) When Leonard tried to tell his mother, she just totally dismissed his claim
        
        Leonard had to deal with a lot as a child. Not only did he experience abuse, it was from a person he trusted and did not want to lose (“The more it happened, the less friendly he got. It went on for two years. I didn’t want to lose my friend. Haven’t you ever done things you didn’t want to do just to keep a friend?” (Quick 187)), he didn’t know how to stop it because he was so young and when he tried to reach out, he was simply brushed off and unacknowledged. He not only lost his innocence physically (as in he had sex and is no longer a virgin to a certain degree), he has also lost his innocence all together. He is not naive to the world or its hardships, he has experienced these horrible things at an early age where he is not going to be able to properly process trauma; or ask for help from somebody.
  - - - For Leonard, this was an early introduction into the cruelty of the world. This harsh introduction coupled with the other traumatic events of his past and future, has made him loose that child’s view. Like the one he mentions in the book, how children are almost blind to reality and hardships of life. “Kids are like blind passengers — they just don’t see what’s coming down the road.” (Quick 128). This clues the reader in to the fact that Leonard used to be a kid like that, but lost that view on the world almost overnight and at a young age. This is the kind of lesson you don’t want to learn young or the hard way; through experiencing it.
      - In an article form Tessa International School, titled “Can Bullying Affect A Child’s Develpment”, it discusses the effects of bullying on the victim, bully and the ones seeing the bullying happen. “ The effects of bullying are so debilitating, in fact, that researchers have linked it to a lower rate of success and quality of life decades later. According to Psychology Today, the low self-esteem and attention issues of youths who had been bullied translated to lower incomes and a greater risk for becoming involved in criminal acts as adults.” (Kreps 1).
        
        This article shows the connection between Leonard’s bullying, his actions in the present and his loss of innocence.
        
        The bullying experienced by Leonard has had influence on his mental health issues. In the article, it specifies a link to lower quality and success in life. Along with this, people bullied are likelier to commit acts of crime in the future. As we see in the story, years after the major issues between him and Asher occurred, Leonard is still dealing with it. He was planning on committing criminal acts (killing Asher Beal) because of what Asher had done (sexually abuse him and bully him).
        
        In an article from the National Institute of Justice, it talks about research done regarding how childhood abuse can affect a child’s criminal involvement and relationships with others (romantically) in the future. “Results showed that childhood abuse increased the risk of adulthood crime by promoting antisocial behavior during childhood and adolescence, followed by the formation of relationships with antisocial romantic partners and peers in adulthood.” (National Institute of Justice 1). This shows that when a child is abused, the likelihood that said child will commit criminal activity increases. So, the fact that Leonard was abused and bullied increases his likelihood to commit criminal activities even more.
        
        Because he has experienced these things, and he himself is more likely to cause more evil, we can conclude he is very aware of these bad things in the world and from an early age (when his bullying and his abuse began). This is because, if he were to cause or commit a crime, he would be aware that this was a crime. Not only has Leonard lost his innocence as a child, he has the potential to cause other kids to be exposed to these hardships in life and lose their innocence as well (if he were to kill Asher, all his friends and any family would be the ones to suffer because of his death; this would be especially true if he had younger cousins or siblings that learn about him being dead (If Leonard had shot Asher))
        
        Asher bullied Leonard. As I had mentioned earlier, this bullying is one of his first introductions to the harsh reality of the world (the cruelty of others). And this is one of the ways he lost his innocence; through his bullying experiences.
- - - - “Linda is my mother. I call her Linda because it annoys her. She says it ‘de-moms’ her. But she de-mommed herself when she rented an apartment in Manhattan and left me all alone in South Jersey to fend for myself most weeks and increasingly more weekends. She says she needs to be in New York because of her fashion-designing career, but I’m pretty sure it’s so she can screw her French boyfriend, Jean-Luc, and keep the hell away from her fucked-up son.” (Quick 9).
    - - “Signed a HUGE record deal, had a creative block, became an alcoholic, married my mom, mad a crap sophomore album, developed a drug habit (or should I say another drug habit because — as we learned in health class — alcohol is a drug), was to much of a wuss to OD or off himself like a proper rock star, had me, quit making music, lived off what he made from basically one lucky song and selling his rock ‘n’ roll paraphernalia on eBay (including the smashed and signed Kurt Cobain guitar that used to hang over my bed), became a has-been one-hit-wonder joke who never even touched a guitar anymore, gre bloated and perpetually red-skinned and unrecognizable, accused Linda of having affairs, began to disappear for days at a time, clandestinely started overnight gambling in Atlantic City, stopped paying taxes, woke his fifteen-year-old son in the middle of the goddamn night to give me his father’s WWII souvenirs and knock me out with his rose-and-mustard-gas Kurt Vonnegut breath, told me to be a good man, told me to take care of Linda, was rumoured to have fled by banana fucking cargo boat to some Venezuelan jungle just before the Feds could nab him, and hasn’t been heard from since.” (Quick 11-12).
      - Both of these quotes are here to show just how badly Leonard was raised.
        
        In an article written on Healthline.com, it mentions the affects of neglectful parenting on children. “ Uninvolved parenting — also called neglectful parenting, which obviously carries more negative connotations — is a style of parenting where parents don’t respond to their child’s needs or desires beyond the basics of food, clothing, and shelter.
        These children receive little guidance, discipline, and nurturing from their parents. And oftentimes kids are left to raise themselves and make decisions — big and small — on their own.” (Higuera 1). It also talks about the signs of neglectful parenting, such as: no behavioural rules or expectations in place, lack of attachment to the child (emotional), minimal to no interest in the child or their actions and increased focus on their own issues rather then their child’s (Higuera 1).
        
        From this article we know what neglectful parenting can do to a child. Based on this, it is easy to see how Leonard would have to try and grow up faster. He has to learn how to handle situations, and because of the lack of guidance and/or support, he won’t always be able to make the best call in a situation. Like when he had problems making friends, contemplating suicide and murder, and when he had the problems with Asher. It even says that kids in this household type will have to almost raise themselves; this includes making big decisions. Because Leonard had no guidance, it is likely that this is why he thought it would be a good idea to kill Asher and then himself before trying to seek any form of help.
        
        Leonard had to do everything for himself from a young age; live in a house on his own, make/get food and clothes on his own, be his own emotional and mental support and teach himself to essentially be a person during a difficult time (after experiencing abuse, neglect, not having any friends or outlets and going through puberty)
        
        In the book, we see that when Asher is sexually abusing Leonard neither of their parents notice what is going (Quick 187-188). This leads us to the conclusion that even as a young child, Leonard was neglected by his parents. When he tried to tell his mother she didn’t believe it and started talking about something else (Quick 188). This not only creates a gateway to depression for Leonard, this also creates trust issues (because of the neglect and what Asher did). Leonard even admits that his mother is oblivious, “Asher and I had that in common — oblivious mothers.” (Quick 123).
        
        In an article from Harvard University titled “Early Childhood Mental Health”, it specifies how the affects of trauma and neglect on a child’s mental health. “ It is essential to treat young children’s mental health problems within the context of their families, homes, and communities. The emotional well-being of young children is directly tied to the functioning of their caregivers and the families in which they live. When these relationships are abusive, threatening, chronically neglectful, or otherwise psychologically harmful, they are a potent risk factor for the development of early mental health problems. In contrast, when relationships are reliably responsive and supportive, they can actually buffer young children from the adverse effects of other stressors. Therefore, reducing the stressors affecting children requires addressing the stresses on their families.” (Harvard University 1).
        
        This segment is essentially saying that early mental illnesses can occur due to the factors previously listed. In Leonard’s case with his family, he experienced neglect on a large scale. Not only that, but when he tried to share what happened to him to his mother, she dismissed it (Quick 188). As smart as Leonard may be, he was never given the correct structure growing up to enable him to be sufficient in handling the difficulties he is experiencing now.
  - - - An article published on PubMed.gov illustrates a survey done with 300 men and women. It was about medical and social issues they have. “ Among those with insufficient perceived social support there were higher rates of having physician-measured overweight/obesity, a heart condition, a previous heart attack, anxiety, and depression... Perceiving sufficient social support was associated with lower rates of several mental and physical health disorders. Social support may act as a barrier or buffer to poor health caused by the stressful living conditions often experienced by low-income underinsured people. ” (Cadzow and Servoss 1).
        
        This explains that the less social interaction that a person has, the more likely they will be to experience mental health problems. And, even some physical illness. This applies how Leonard has to learn to deal with these mental illnesses very early on in his life when he should be having fun as a young adult with his friends. Instead, he is friendless and is dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts. If he had friends as support then he would at least have somebody he could go to since his parents are not there. But, he didn’t have those friends. So, he had to try and learn quickly with no help or guidance from anybody on how to deal with these mental issues.
        
        When a person grows up without friends, they have to learn how to entertain themselves. This is something people will usually learn as adults or even in there teens. But as a kid you should usually have friends, so you play and do things together; you entertain each other instead of having to entertain yourself. Even if you don’t have friends, your parents would be there to play with you or give you something to do instead. However, Leonard had neither of these things after Asher. Which explains why he had to grow up faster, so he could learn how to be more independent and entertain/take care himself.
- - - - From this quote we can see that Leonard just wants life to end for him. His thoughts are so depressive and horrible that he would rather be dead. The problems he faces and has had in the past are to hard to bare alone for him and he can’t take it anymore. He has no friends or any good family, he has nobody to rely on. And if he did, he doesn’t really trust them. For example, when he was in the cab with Silverman, Leonard wanted to jump out of the car and run. He felt as though he was a burden and Silverman felt obligated to help; despite Silverman trying to help, he feels like he can’t even trust him.
        
        In an article on healthline.com titled “ 6 Suicide Questions You Weren’t Sure How to Ask”, it discusses what some causes of suicide are. There were many listed, some are: depression, psychosis, PTSD, loss of a close friend, loss of a child, feelings of shame/failure (contiuous), legal trouble (arrested), medical illness/terminal illness and childhood trauma, abuse or bullying are some listed (Raypole 1).
        
        These are just some of the reasons people would commit suicide. While it is bad to have 1 or even 2, Leonard has multiple. He has depression, most-likely PTSD from his sexual abuse, childhood trauma involving sexual abuse and bullying and loss of a close friend (Asher). Although he may hate Asher, the loss of somebody you were that close with, when they were your only friend, can still be harsh (especially when they betray you).
        
        With all of these factors at play, it is no wonder that Leonard would want to end his life. It is not a good one for him, and from his observations, he sees no other outcome for his future but misery.
        
        “ ‘Like I said before, I was hoping that I’m wrong, that life gets better for some people when they get older, and even the most miserable people — such as you and me — might be able to enjoy at least some aspect of adulthood. Like those ads where gay guys talk about being picked on in high school but then they grew up and discovered that adult life is like heaven. They say it gets better. I want to believe that happiness might at least be possible later on in life for people prone to sadness.’ “ (Quick 55). Leonard has tried to find a silver lining, or hope for the future. But he just can’t find any, he looks at adults during their everyday life and he can’t find any sign that there will be happiness in the future for somebody like him.
        
        “I don’t say anything about that or ask questions, even though Herr Silverman’s facial expressions sort of make me want to jump out of the moving cab, roll to the sidewalk, run away bruised and bleeding, and take a train back to New Jersey. I’m sort of freaked about everything I told him — like maybe it as a mistake to be honest. I’m worried he’ll never look at me the same way — he’s just being nice to me face, but then when I leave he’ll tell Julius that I sicken him.” (Quick 230)