Mr. Freeman Character Analysis

Before reading this section of the novel, I thought Heather was a good friend who was always there for Melinda. They would often go to each other’s houses, share their thoughts and feelings and hangout, however Heather began to desperately want to create a reputation for herself and join a popular group as she didn’t feel Melinda was good enough. So she tried to join the Marthas. Heather gets a modeling job in a mall, and from then on the Marthas begin to love Heather, and Heather comes rude, arrogant, and starts to ignore Melinda. For instance, Melinda says to herself “lunch with Heather starts cold. Since winter break, she has been sitting at the fringe of the Martha table and I eat on the other side of her. I can tell something is up as soon as I walk in… I mumble something idiotic and run for the bathroom. I have lunch into the toilet, then wash my face with the ice water that comes out of the hot faucet. Heather does not come looking for me (88)”. This shows Heather had changed as before she
Freeman (art teacher)- When reading the previous section I thought Mr. Freeman was a psycho and negative person, and all he did was complain about the school board and how they cut the art supplies budget. Through this section of the novel I got to see another side of Mr. Freeman- much more caring and relatable. He does a few things for Melinda that no one else would probably do for her. One of them being that he tried to relate to her pain. When Melinda showed him her turkey bone exhibit artwork he said “I see a girl caught in the remains of a holiday gone bad, with her flesh picked off day after day as the carcass dries out (64)”. Also, he cared enough to drop Melinda off to Effert’s (her mother’s clothing store) when she had no ride and even let her know he was there for her if she ever needed to talk. As she gets out of the car he says “if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me. You’re a good kid. I think you have a lot to say. I’d like to hear it