Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-15

Chapters 16-21

Chapters 22-31

Chapters 32-42

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Themes

The Effects of Bullying and the Importance of Support

Aven’s traumatic experience being bullied results in damaging mental and emotional effects. Bowling highlights the serious problem of school bullying and through Aven’s example, shows how important it is for victims to take back their power. Bowling illustrates how cruel words can both wound an individual’s self-image and worldview, and how loving words can help repair that damage.

Bullying is fundamentally a power imbalance. A bully repeatedly exerts their power over another to intimidate and humiliate. Joshua, a good-looking, popular football player, is at the top of the school social hierarchy. He uses the power conferred by his elevated social status to aggressively torment Aven and Zion. Aven and Zion know that they are not on the same social level as Joshua, and do not share his popularity. They are new freshmen, have few friends, eat alone, and are both self-conscious of the physical features that make them different. Their difference from other students, lack of social clout, and lack of self-confidence make them prime victims for Joshua. Joshua targets Aven primarily because of her disability, and he sees her as “inferior.”

Joshua is a verbal bully and a social bully. He says cruel things, calls Zion and Aven names, and taunts them about their differences. Joshua’s social bullying is even more hurtful. Joshua deceives Aven into thinking she is valued, then publicly humiliates her. His actions damage Aven’s potential social acceptance in school, undermine her confidence in her ability to make new friends, and make her feel like a pariah. His continued air kisses are salt in the wound and perpetuate his influence over Aven, constantly renewing her feelings of shame. Joshua, and similarly, Janessa, dehumanize Aven by treating her as something “abnormal” and “disgusting.” Their efforts socially isolate and other her.

Janessa and Joshua’s bullying also target Aven’s emotional insecurities of desirability and appearance. Even though confident at the start of school, Aven still worries that her physical difference makes her unattractive. Following Joshua’s hurtful acts and Janessa’s disparaging comments, Aven loses all hope that she will ever be liked by a boy as more than a friend. Aven compares herself negatively to beautiful Janessa with her perfect hair, makeup, clothes, and nails. Aven develops an insecurity over her body image and feels deficient.

The impact of Joshua’s bullying on Aven’s thoughts and emotions is damaging. She does not want to return to school and face her peers because of her feelings of shame and embarrassment. Although Aven was always conscious of being stared at because of her armlessness, now she cares overmuch what others think of her. She fears being observed, judged, and further humiliated and rejected. She develops social anxiety. She chooses isolation, staying home from school and pushing her friends away. Her feelings of shame and her new lack of trust in others keep Aven from confiding in friends and family. Aven’s self-talk reinforces her feelings of inadequacy. Aven tells herself she is weak and unworthy of love. She internalizes the false image of herself created by Joshua.

Rationally, Aven knows that her reactions are hurting herself and others. She also recognizes the possible long-term effects of bullying when she considers that Zion’s shyness and low self-esteem were shaped by Joshua’s bullying. Aven knows she is giving away her personal power.

It takes powerful positive words and support from Henry and Lando to help Aven recognize her self-worth and begin to heal the wounds made by Joshua and Janessa. Henry asks Aven, “You going to let one mean boy have this much power over you?” (220). He assures Aven that she is valuable and loved, and that she needs to believe in herself the way her friends and family believe in her. Lando offers similar insight: His drawings show Aven that Lando sees her as powerful, brave, good, and strong. Lando, whose opinion especially matters to Aven, shows her that Joshua and Janessa’s opinions do not matter. Aven regains her confidence, takes her power back, and removes the imbalance that Joshua capitalized on. Aven gains the courage to tell school staff about the problem, and “Bullies [get] the justice they deserve” (298). Thanks to loving support from others, Aven internalizes and affirms a positive image of herself.

Finding Comfort in Found Family

Henry observes that Aven has many people who care about her and who want her to succeed and be happy. Aven’s inner circle consists of family, friends, and potential love interests. Over the course of the novel, Bowling shows that the positive impact of one’s emotional support network is vital. Aven learns valuable lessons about her found family, including the discovery that family is what you make it. Family includes the people she chooses to be in her life.

Family is an essential support structure for most of the characters in the novel. Bowling shows that the true definition of family is varied and fluid. Families may differ in structure, and may not include blood relations, but what matters most is that they are unfailingly there, with love and acceptance. While Trilby and Zion come from traditional two-parent families, both sets of parents encourage their children to express themselves and be themselves. Trilby is supported through her homeschooling, artwork, and struggle against the Man and Zion and Lando are supported with their guitar lessons, love of comics, and drawing. Connor’s parents are divorced, but his father shows his love for Connor in his efforts to be a part of Connor’s life. Aven’s adoptive parents are not blood relations, but they love her unconditionally. They trust her judgment and give her the independence to solve problems and make her own decisions. Aven’s parents show their unflagging support by enabling Aven to find her birth father. True family is there to support Aven in finding her own path.

Aven’s natural desire to find her birth father shows her belief that a familial blood connection is important to understand oneself and resolve insecurities, and to discover similarities. Aven’s interest in her birth father is reflected in her anxiety about Henry’s orphan status. Aven believes that Henry should not “die without knowing where he had come from and whether he had any family out there searching for him” (229). Henry’s isolation frightens Aven. Henry shows Aven, however, that family means more than blood. Family consists of the people who Aven cares about, who care about Aven, and who are there for her. Henry, though glad to meet his long-lost brother, says they are “strangers,” while he considers Aven and her parents, and those at Stagecoach Pass who have known and cared for him, his real family. Aven ultimately rejects searching for her birth father because she realizes that her adoptive dad, who has supported her and loved her since birth, is her true dad in every way that matters.

Henry says, “There’re all different kinds of families […] Friends can be like family” (221) and Aven’s friends show that they, like her parents, love her and have her best interest at heart. Aven’s friends are there for her even when she tries to push them away. Connor stands by her even though Aven tries to shut him with her secrets and crabbiness. Aven’s friends are loyal to her and defend her. Zion eats outside with her in the heat and tries to warn her about Joshua. Aven’s friends like her for who she is inside. They also show a vital quality of friendship in their honesty. Lando and Trilby challenge Aven to value herself and embrace nonconformity. Aven recognizes that her friends are her chosen family: people she handpicks to have around her because she wants them in her life. Aven comments that “real friends were worth all the effort in the world” (296). Four of the 20 good things Aven ultimately lists about high school, are about her friends.

Friendship gets complicated when it becomes something more than friendship. Romantic feelings are new to Aven, and she experiences jealousy and insecurity when her friendships with Connor and Lando change. Ultimately, Aven learns that even with romantic relationships, the most integral part is friendship, which she reveals when she realizes that her dad, “didn’t just love Mom. He liked her, liked her. And he liked her. That was maybe the most important thing of all” (271). Aven’s team is an eclectic blend of family and valued, chosen friends. Bowling shows how both groups nurture and cheer Aven on to be her best self.

Believing in Yourself

Aven’s loss of self-confidence causes her to disproportionately focus on what others think of her, specifically, the derogatory way her bullies view her. They see only Aven’s disability and difference. Fortunately, Aven’s support team helps Aven recover her inner strength and recognize that it is what is on the inside that matters most. Bowling illustrates the importance of focusing on a person’s personality and ability, their expressions of inner self, rather than superficial outward appearances. Bowling’s inclusive message inspires readers to believe in themselves and their inherent worth.

Aven starts high school with nervous optimism. Although she is still self-conscious about her armlessness and how others see her, she is confident in her abilities and herself. She comments, “But you’d be surprised at all I’m capable of. Even without arms” (5). Aven accepts and likes who she is. She is proud of what she has accomplished and excited about her new goals. She no longer thinks of herself and her life as insignificant. Even when Aven is frustrated by her disability, she refuses to be defined by her armlessness. Trilby senses that Aven is “punk rock at heart” because the core of punk is believing “I’m good the way I am” (66). Aven believes that message about herself at the novel’s start.

Joshua’s bullying causes an identity crisis for Aven. Aven becomes insecure with her sense of self. She grows self-conscious and self-critical and focuses on others’ opinions of her. She believes that others see her and judge her by her disability, and find her not only inadequate, but disgusting. Aven internalizes this negative definition and socially withdraws, feeling that because of her physical difference, boys will never like her, and she will not make friends. Aven’s pride in herself and her strength for adapting and thriving with her disability are diminished. She thinks, “I wasn’t strong enough to face high school” (133).

Both Aven’s mom and Henry advise that she cannot hide from life, even when life gets hard. Her mom assures Aven that “God never gives us more than we can handle” (241), the message being that Aven is strong enough to overcome whatever problem she faces—and that she must face her problems. Henry urges her not to give her power away, as he did, and suffer insecurity and unhappiness because of others the rest of her life.

Several characters help Aven stop her negative self-talk, acting as role models in the ways they show courage in facing their own social problems. Connor is also ridiculed at school, but he succeeds in making a new friend in Amanda. Zion steps out of his comfort zone, overcoming his shyness to attend homecoming with Trilby. Lando sacrifices his place on the football team to stand up for Aven. Lando, especially, shows Aven by word and deed that what matters to him—and everyone who counts—is on the inside. Lando’s drawings, similarly, show that he sees Aven the way she should see herself: courageous and strong.

Other influences help Aven regain her sense of self. At the punk rock concert, the lyrics “I’m not what they thought. / I am what I believe” help Aven recognize that she has let Joshua and others’ thoughts influence what she believes about herself (272). She understands that she needs to redefine herself and regain her confidence. With the support of friends and her own determination to survive and thrive, Aven makes a conscious choice to change her state of mind back to positivity and take responsibility for her happiness instead of allowing others to control her feelings. Aven’s self-talk becomes positive. She affirms, “I am Aven Green. I am good. I am brave. I am punk. And I am fighting the Man with every action I make” (276). Aven once again faces life with her head held high. Aven’s victory over those who try to exclude her, and over her own self-doubt, inspires all readers to believe in themselves and their intrinsic value.