Because of Mr. Terupt

Jessica is new to Snow Hill School. She moves from California to Connecticut with her mother after her father has an affair with an actress. Jessica’s father directs small plays in California, and his occupation influences her narrative style–Each section of Jessica’s narrative is in acts and scenes like a screenplay. Jessica is mature and independent. She recognizes Alexia’s dramatic antics and comes to her own conclusions about the rumors she hears. As much as she tries, though, Jessica can’t help but get pulled into the girl war that Alexia starts.

Jessica relies on books for comfort. She constantly has a book under her arm and looks to fictional characters to guide her own actions. Mr. Terupt eases Jessica’s nerves on the first day of school by connecting with her over A Wrinkle in Time. When Mrs. Williams comes to talk to the class after Mr. Terupt’s accident, Jessica longs for the comfort of a book to escape: “I needed comfort. I wanted to read Bridge to Terabithia and Missing May. I wanted the company of Jesse Aarons and Summer and Uncle Ob” (148). It’s not just a familiar plot and strong characters that comfort Jessica—she also depends on the physical comfort of having something in her hands to calm her nerves in times of stress.

Jessica is logical and searches for explanations as to why the snowball accident happens on a philosophical level, wanting to believe that things happen for a reason. This logical approach prevents her from recognizing her own feelings of guilt until Jeffrey points them out to her. Once Jessica accepts her own guilty feelings, it opens the way for her to better understand that nobody has to be solely to blame in complicated situations.

Luke likes academic challenges. He likes school, knows he’s “good at it” (8), and he gets all A’s. Luke’s narrative voice is analytical. He meticulously describes class projects step-by-step using advanced vocabulary words compared to his peers. Mr. Terupt’s projects excite Luke because they’re not “the stupid easy stuff I’m used to getting from my teachers” (56). Luke thrives on being the smartest one in class and prefers to work alone. He frequently has difficulty acknowledging the successes of his peers. He’s open to taking some suggestion and minimal instruction from Mr. Terupt, but he craves solving problems on his own for the sake of earning credit for an accomplishment. This gets him into trouble sometimes, such as when his science experiment sets off the fire alarm, despite Mr. Terupt’s gentle concern over the concoction.

Luke’s competitive streak also contributes to Mr. Terupt’s accident. He lets his anger over Peter’s success in the classroom reach a level that takes his competitiveness to resentment and a desire for revenge. This reaction demonstrates how personally Luke takes his academic success and the extent to which he strives for intellectual superiority over his peers.

Luke struggles to admit his role in Mr. Terupt’s accident. He wants to blame Mr. Terupt for not keeping the students under control, but he eventually comes to admit, “Peter threw the snowball because of me” (200). This is a cathartic moment for Luke: “I cried now, too. Accepting responsibility can make you do that, I guess” (200). Admitting his contributing role to Mr. Terupt’s accident and relieving Peter of carrying the guilt alone is a turning point for Luke.

Alexia is a queen bee among the fifth-grade girls, and she’s accustomed to other girls unquestioningly following her lead. She bullies and manipulates girls who don’t follow her and changes alliances from one moment to the next, all for the sake of creating drama among girls in the class. One of Alexia’s bullying tactics is to strip others of credit when they’ve accomplished something, such as when she deflates Anna’s confidence in science by saying, “Like, you’re just lucky Danielle was your partner. She did everything” (27). When Mr. Terupt confronts Alexia about her behavior towards other students, she hates him for making her cry.

Alexia wasn’t always this way, though. When Mr. Terupt confronts her for being mean to other kids, Alexia’s narrative reveals that she was bullied in the past for her fashion choices and speaking mannerisms. Alexia’s narrative voice employs a colloquial use of the word “like” often. Her very first words in the novel are, “I was like, I have this new guy for a teacher. That’s so cool” (12). In addition to having been bullied, Alexia comes from a family in which she witnessed frequent mean behavior between her parents. Her parents yell at one another, and her mom is constantly upset over her dad. After throwing her dad out of the house, Alexia’s mom tells her not to ever let anyone push her around the way her father does: “You take charge and fight back” (91). Alexia doesn’t see herself as a bully because she considers her actions to be a proactive form of self-defense, but Mr. Terupt’s influence brings her to realize that she’s a mean girl, and she makes an effort to change.

Jeffrey’s narrative voice is characterized by his casual diction and dismissive tone. He disengages himself from learning, withdraws from others, and is hard on himself. On the first day of school, Jeffrey observes his classmates and the way Mr. Terupt handles Peter’s clowning: “Terupt figured it out, even if he was new. He seems smart. I just don’t want him tryin’ to figure me out. I’m no good in school. School sucks” (15). Interacting with an autistic student brings out Jeffrey’s compassionate side because his older brother, Michael, had special needs. Michael was very sick, and Jeffrey blames himself for Michael’s death. Jeffrey copes with his grief by withdrawing from school and peer relationships.

Jeffrey eventually comes to understand that he is not to blame for Michael’s death. His narrative and his character evolution contribute heavily to the novel’s larger themes of self-blame and forgiveness. Jeffrey carries a lot of guilt over his brother’s death, and this prevents him from seeing the good in himself. Once Jeffrey tries to reconnect with his parents, though, he begins to feel happy again. When he’s at his happiest, that’s also when he reveals that he’s the one who runs for help when Mr. Terupt falls in the snow. He’s finally able to give himself credit for making a positive impact, demonstrating his growth over the course of the novel.

When readers first meet Jeffrey, his home situation is shrouded in grief and silence. He and his parents don’t talk to one another, each wrapped up in their own grief over the loss of Michael. After Mr. Terupt’s accident, Jeffrey eventually finds the courage to take the first step in rebuilding his relationship with his parents, and he comforts his mother without any expectation of a reaction. He notices that she starts to emerge from her own grief after his effort, and this makes him happy. Jeffrey’s father also notices the impact that Jeffrey’s consolation has on his mom, and that brings Jeffrey and his father back to speaking to one another as well. In Jeffrey’s case, Mr. Terupt’s influence brings him to care about school and about the positive impact he has in helping his family overcome a tragedy together. Jeffrey doesn’t realize it, but he brings people together and helps them through their grief, whether that’s his classmates at the hospital or his parents at home.

Danielle is heavy-set, quiet, and easily influenced, making her an easy target for Alexia’s drama and bullying. Danielle considers herself to be Alexia’s friend, although they experience some healthy distance from one another after Mr. Terupt confronts Alexia for being mean. Danielle’s expectations of friendship evolve throughout the novel. When she’s introduced, she lets Alexia boss her around by before recognizing Jessica as her “true friend” (71), and she gains enough courage to ask permission to spend time with Anna outside of school.

Danielle lives on a farm with her family, including her mother, Susan, her grandmother, and her older brother, Charlie. Family and faith are very important to Danielle. Danielle prays to God to help Mr. Terupt, and she prays for forgiveness in what she considers to be her role in the accident that leaves Mr. Terupt in a coma. She admits in her prayer, “I’m the one who suggested going outside, and I helped push Peter down” (179).

Danielle’s narrative voice includes her narration as well as her prayers to God. Danielle is the only character in the novel to address multiple audiences–She addresses the reading audience, but she also addresses God directly in her prayers. This offers readers a deeper insight into Danielle’s faith and the role prayer plays as a source of comfort and guidance for her.

Anna is quiet and never raises her hand at school, but she’s a good observer: “If you keep quiet, you have time to look and listen and take things in” (19). Jessica describes Anna as “quiet, but she’s a lot smarter than everyone thinks. She’s the only girl smart enough to stay out of Alexia’s nonsense” (59). Danielle also notices that Anna doesn’t get involved in Alexia’s drama, and for this, she considers Anna brave. Anna considers her mom, Terri, her best friend, which makes it a bit easier for her not to avoid Alexia’s dramatic friend group.

Being a good observer, Anna notices which adults in the novel are unmarried based on whether they wear rings on their fingers. Anna is born out of wedlock and to a teenage mother, and she considers herself to be her mother’s “mistake”: “I felt like it was my fault. I wanted to help her find a friend, and a husband” (105). Anna understands that her mother faces social ostracism, but she thinks it’s her own fault rather than the result of her mother’s actions as a teenager. Anna finally asks her mother about whether she’s to blame, and she’s relieved when her mother tells her the situation is not her fault; her mother would go through it all again to have her.

Anna gains confidence as the novel progresses. After Mr. Terupt intervenes with Alexia, Anna finds the courage to invite friends over to her house for the first time. Anna demonstrates “no small amount of courage” at the end of the novel when she speaks directly to Danielle’s mother, despite knowing that Danielle’s mother disapproves of her (261). This final act of courage is rewarded when Danielle’s mother agrees to let the girls have a playdate. Anna starts the novel with just her own mother as her friend, and by the end of the story, she is friends with Jessica, Danielle, and Alexia.