The Importance Of Faith In Ellen Hopkins's Rumble

“The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving the present”- Barbara De Angelis. Ellen Hopkins's novel Rumble uncovers the story of Matthew, an average teenage boy struggling with the suicide of his younger brother, Luke. Through poetry, Matthew expresses his denial, guilt, and, most importantly loss of faith. He explains the guilt he feels for not standing up for his brother who endured constant homophobic bullying. These emotions present in Matthew's heart, leave Mathew with a negative relationship to the past. This in turn causes his outlook on the present and future to be dull. Matthew’s negative emotions of guilt and denial toward his brother’s recent suicide, causes the novel to explore Matt’s changing emotions and grief recovery. The meaning of this piece of work is that you can find faith, even in the darkest of times.
Brimming of guilt for not providing significant support to his constantly bullied brother, Matthew
The anger and loss in faith present in these writings, causes the school officials to display significant concern for Matthew. One of Matthew’s anger-infused works is an essay in which he expressed his feelings on Luke's death. He stated, “And those troglodytes who orchestrated that claim to serve the architect of love? ...Would he [God] actually forgive them on nothing but strength of a Sunday prayer? No, those dudes are tumbling toward a brimstone bumble bath, and if it meant they’d fall in a little sooner, I’d happily give them a push.”(166). These words evince the deep anger, and yearning for revenge, held within Matthew. It also shows that he posses anger to anyone who has faith, or potentially had reason to offend his brother. This anger, deeply rooted in past events, also proves Matthew’s lack of faith and loss of hope, which is the reoccurring theme in