“Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto

 

Summary

“Seventh Grade” is a novel that talks about a boy, Victor who enters his first day of seventh grade with the hope of impressing a girl, Teresa. His attempts to impress during the French lesson in the school classroom backfire as he goes ahead playing the role of speaking French. Teresa is not laughing; she is friendly and requests him to assist her with French, which leaves Victor so excited and hopeful about the new school life.

 

Characters:

·       Victor- A boy of seventh grade and thus desires Teresa to like him.

·       Teresa- The girl that Victor likes; nice, intelligent, and adorable.

·       Michael- The best friend of Victor who attempts to appear cool by scowling.

·       Mr. Bueller- The French teacher who realizes that Victor did the wrong thing and does not humiliate him.

·       Mr. Lucas- The English teacher who realizes Victor has a crush on Teresa.

 

Plot Elements:

·       Exposition : Victor begins his first seventh grade day and wants to see Teresa as his girlfriend.

·       Rising Action : He attempts to be cool like his friend Michael and enrolls in French class since Teresa is taking it.

·       Climax : Victor invents random words to impress Teresa by saying them in French when he is asked by the teacher, but he only ends up embarrassing himself.

·       Resolution : Teresa believes that Victor did a fantastic French and requests him to assist, Mr. Bueller defends him, and Victor is confident and happy about the remaining months of school.

 

Analysis

It is a humorous, relatable and heartwarming story. It is an ideal illustration of the clumsiness of middle school and to what extent a person can go to impress his or her crush. I was anxious on behalf of Victor when he attempted to use the French language since I knew that he was about to commit an error. Nevertheless, I also felt good when Teresa did not laugh but responded in a kind manner.

It is also revealed in the story that kindness and understanding go a long way. Mr. Bueller would have humiliated Victor but on the contrary he remained silent and assisted him in salvaging his face. Kindness of Teresa made Victor feel better again.

I also liked this story as it was very real. Most students can associate with the desire to impress someone or to fit in, Gary Soto managed to make the characters feel like real children and the ending made me smile because Victor understood that there was no need to be something he was not to achieve the goal of Teresa liking him. 

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