Summary Of Blythe Woolston's The Freak Observer
According to BlytheWoolston.com, “The Freak Observer is about death, life, astrophysics, and finding beauty in chaos.” As simple as this description is, it accurately conveys the key ideas of the novel. The Freak Observer, written by Blythe Woolston, presents physics as a coping mechanism for the death of the main character’s little sister and best friend. Loa, the main character, uses her physics homework to deal with this burden. The setting of The Freak Observer is Southern California. This book was published in August 2010 by Lerner Publishing Group, and contains 209 pages.
The Freak Observer opens as Loa witnesses her best friend, Ester, die in a car accident. Her involvement in this incident brings back vivid memories of her little …show more content…
sister Astra’s passing, involving Rett’s Syndrome. Loa shows signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, including recurring nightmares and hallucinations. One hallucination she experiences is of death; what she calls “The Boney Guy.” Loa looks to her parents for comfort, but they themselves are broken from their own family’s tragedy. Trying to find a way to heal, Loa buries herself in a part-time job, household chores, and her debate partner, Corey. Corey moves to Europe, leaving Loa distraught. Corey sends her postcards, but she sees them as a sort of taunting, because of her PTSD. While catching up on school work, Loa’s physics teacher, Mr. Banacek, hands her an extra credit assignment about the idea of the Freak Observer. Completing this project gives Loa a greater perspective on the world. After moving from a farm in the country to an apartment in the city, Loa transfers high schools. While settling in, Loa befriends a peculiar boy named Jack. She develops a strange friendship with Jack and this causes her to become as close as she has ever been to being at peace with herself.
Although it is uncommon, the protagonist and antagonist in The Freak Observer are the same person, Loa herself. Loa is internally fighting with her mind, trying to cope with the situation which she has been troubled. Blythe Woolson tells her story in first person to aid the reader in relating to Loa and to explain what is happening in her brain. The many moods in this book, including a dark, oppressive, and saddening oppressions.
Loa defines the Freak Observer as the following: “The Freak Observer is a conscious entity that pops into existence in its own universe.
It is hypothesized to exist because of an infinite number of universes has been hypothesized to exist. Given so much infinity, it is probable that something like a naked brain floating in space just spontaneously happens.” (Woolston 1421). The Freak Observer is based on an idea called the Boltzmann Brain Paradox. The Boltzmann Brain Paradox has been brought forward as an explanation for why we witness so much organization in the universe. Dr. William Craig, a Talbot School of Theology professor, explains the Boltzmann Brain Paradox as this: “It is far more likely that a single brain would fluctuate into existence out of the vacuum than that a universe finely tuned as this, with a low entropy condition like this, would come to exist. So it is far more likely that if we were just a random member of a world ensemble that we would be a Boltzmann Brain and that anything around us is really an illusion. If you think that you are not a Boltzmann Brain, it therefore follows that you are not just a random member of this world ensemble, that in fact, isn’t such a world ensemble, that you are just randomly a member of the universe.” The Boltzmann Brain Theory continues to baffle
many.
Loa’s life was pulled back together when she completed her assignment on the Freak Observer, which is based on the Boltzmann Brain Paradox. This homework changed her view on her life and in physics. Learning that physics isn’t just forces and momentum definitely changed my view of physics. The Freak Observer left readers with the outlook that people can overcome adversities, and everyone responds to those in a completely different manner. Everyone can relate to a tragedy because they occur in everyone’s life at some point in time. In my opinion, The Freak Observer is a quality novel.
The Freak Observer opens as Loa witnesses her best friend, Ester, die in a car accident. Her involvement in this incident brings back vivid memories of her little …show more content…
sister Astra’s passing, involving Rett’s Syndrome. Loa shows signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, including recurring nightmares and hallucinations. One hallucination she experiences is of death; what she calls “The Boney Guy.” Loa looks to her parents for comfort, but they themselves are broken from their own family’s tragedy. Trying to find a way to heal, Loa buries herself in a part-time job, household chores, and her debate partner, Corey. Corey moves to Europe, leaving Loa distraught. Corey sends her postcards, but she sees them as a sort of taunting, because of her PTSD. While catching up on school work, Loa’s physics teacher, Mr. Banacek, hands her an extra credit assignment about the idea of the Freak Observer. Completing this project gives Loa a greater perspective on the world. After moving from a farm in the country to an apartment in the city, Loa transfers high schools. While settling in, Loa befriends a peculiar boy named Jack. She develops a strange friendship with Jack and this causes her to become as close as she has ever been to being at peace with herself.
Although it is uncommon, the protagonist and antagonist in The Freak Observer are the same person, Loa herself. Loa is internally fighting with her mind, trying to cope with the situation which she has been troubled. Blythe Woolson tells her story in first person to aid the reader in relating to Loa and to explain what is happening in her brain. The many moods in this book, including a dark, oppressive, and saddening oppressions.
Loa defines the Freak Observer as the following: “The Freak Observer is a conscious entity that pops into existence in its own universe.
It is hypothesized to exist because of an infinite number of universes has been hypothesized to exist. Given so much infinity, it is probable that something like a naked brain floating in space just spontaneously happens.” (Woolston 1421). The Freak Observer is based on an idea called the Boltzmann Brain Paradox. The Boltzmann Brain Paradox has been brought forward as an explanation for why we witness so much organization in the universe. Dr. William Craig, a Talbot School of Theology professor, explains the Boltzmann Brain Paradox as this: “It is far more likely that a single brain would fluctuate into existence out of the vacuum than that a universe finely tuned as this, with a low entropy condition like this, would come to exist. So it is far more likely that if we were just a random member of a world ensemble that we would be a Boltzmann Brain and that anything around us is really an illusion. If you think that you are not a Boltzmann Brain, it therefore follows that you are not just a random member of this world ensemble, that in fact, isn’t such a world ensemble, that you are just randomly a member of the universe.” The Boltzmann Brain Theory continues to baffle
many.
Loa’s life was pulled back together when she completed her assignment on the Freak Observer, which is based on the Boltzmann Brain Paradox. This homework changed her view on her life and in physics. Learning that physics isn’t just forces and momentum definitely changed my view of physics. The Freak Observer left readers with the outlook that people can overcome adversities, and everyone responds to those in a completely different manner. Everyone can relate to a tragedy because they occur in everyone’s life at some point in time. In my opinion, The Freak Observer is a quality novel.