What Challenges Does Greek Make
For some, it takes a life-changing experience to grasp how fortunate they are and to understand not to take things for granted. For Izzy, it took a horrible car accident which resulted in the loss of half of her leg to realize how essential the things one thought were so small and unimportant truly are. Throughout the book Izzy, Willy Nilly, Cynthia Voigt confronted the main character, Izzy, with numerous unexpected incidences that she had to conquer. Izzy had always been known as the “nice girl” with an almost-perfect life until one foolish mistake changed everything and people only knew her as the cripple. Luckily, Izzy had a girl named Rosamunde on her side for the whole journey. Rosamunde played a vital role in Izzy's healing by always
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sticking with her, being brutally honest, and seeing past her physical injury when her other friends couldn't.
Rosamunde played a major role in Izzy's healing because she never left her side when others did and was always there to assist Izzy. When Rosamunde visited Izzy in the hospital and said she had to leave, that was mostly because she thought Izzy wanted her to go. However, it was apparent she still wanted to stay there because once Izzy told her to stay, Rosamunde replied by saying, “Really? Boy, I’m glad to hear that” (114). Also, because Izzy missed a lot of school, she had loads of homework to make up. Rosamunde, being the nice and intelligent girl she is, told Izzy, “If you get stuck, I could help” (169) showing that she was always there to aid her. Finally, when Izzy made her return back to school, she had an incident where she accidentally tripped and landed on her face. Of course, Rosamunde showed up to save the day once again. She helped her up and got people to go away by saying, “Hey, she’s fine, she’s just doing this for attention” (257). She even stayed with her until they arrived late to class, and then she made an excuse to cover for Izzy. She told the teacher she “Had an emergency and Izzy helped me out” (259). Although Rosamunde wasn’t one of Izzy’s closest friends before the incident, she stuck with her through the difficult times, and that’s what mattered most.
Rosamunde’s upfront honesty and ability to tell it how it is also helped support Izzy.
During Rosamunde’s first visit to the hospital to see Izzy, the first thing she said was, “You look terrible” (88), which goes to show how blunt of a person she is. Unlike everyone who was thinking this but avoiding it, Rosamunde had the courage to ask Izzy, “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” (95), which ultimately helped Izzy face reality. What happened, happened and if everyone pretended like everything remained normal, Izzy would never be able to move on. Lastly, when Rosamunde walked in on a phone call between Izzy and her brother, she thought whoever was on the other end of the phone line was distressing Izzy. Thinking she was having Izzy’s back and helping her, she stole the phone away and told Izzy’s brother, “I don’t know what you were saying, but whatever it was it wasn’t any too smart”...“you’d better hang up, hadn’t you?” (110). At the time, Rosamunde didn’t realize the other person on the phone was Izzy’s brother, but she was just trying to protect Izzy’s feelings, and it’s the thought that counts. Telling the truth and being upfront is key to any relationship, and that’s a main reason why Rosamunde was able to connect with and support
Izzy. Rosamunde does have a few downfalls, however, when Izzy's other friends couldn't see past her physical injury, Rosamunde treated her as though nothing ever happened and stayed by her side. It was apparent that one of Izzy’s friends, Lauren, couldn’t handle seeing Izzy after the accident because when she came to visit, she “came up and put a bouquet of flowers on the table top, then retreated back to the doorway” (44). Lauren kept avoiding Izzy and soon began not even coming to see her anymore when Izzy’s other friends, Suzy and Lisa, did. Rosamunde began to visit Izzy subsequent to her accident which showed she truly liked Izzy for her personality and could overlook her injury, unlike Lauren. Also, Suzy and Lisa were forced by their parents to come visit Izzy, whereas Rosamunde actually enjoyed accompanying Izzy and did it freely. One night, Suzy and Lisa showed up once again to Izzy’s hospital room, but Izzy knew it was only because “someone had given them an earful” (78) to come and see her. After a while, Lisa and Suzy stopped showing up all together as well, but Rosamunde remained as her one genuine friend. Even Izzy’s sister had a hard time adjusting to seeing Izzy’s new appearance. When Izzy came back home and her sister Francie first saw her, “She rushed toward me and then stopped dead in her tracks, staring” (148). Francie also didn't like all the changes that came with Izzy returning home, including the relocation of her room, the renovations to accommodate Izzy's wheelchair, and the special attention she was receiving. This obviously didn't make Izzy feel welcome or at home, and she felt guilty for making other people's lives change and revolve around her special needs. Rosamunde, however, was one of the few people to make Izzy feel comfortable and like she belonged. Many people close to Izzy couldn’t handle or adjust to seeing Izzy’s injury, but Rosamunde did immediately and that’s what allowed her to succeed with Izzy in ways other people couldn't.
Part of the reason why Izzy was able to overcome such a difficult obstacle in her life was because Rosamunde played one of the biggest roles during her recovery: she never left her side, she remained upfront and honest, and saw her for her personality and not her disability when others couldn't. Cynthia Voigt manifested an important message throughout the story: don't take the little things for granted because in a blink of an eye, everything can be taken away. Izzy realized this after losing half a limb and understanding how many daily functions can't be performed with just one and a half legs. It's hard to realize how crucial something is until one day it's just gone. However, with a friend alongside and someone showing support, like Rosamunde, terrible tragedies can become just a little less overwhelming and little more bearable.
sticking with her, being brutally honest, and seeing past her physical injury when her other friends couldn't.
Rosamunde played a major role in Izzy's healing because she never left her side when others did and was always there to assist Izzy. When Rosamunde visited Izzy in the hospital and said she had to leave, that was mostly because she thought Izzy wanted her to go. However, it was apparent she still wanted to stay there because once Izzy told her to stay, Rosamunde replied by saying, “Really? Boy, I’m glad to hear that” (114). Also, because Izzy missed a lot of school, she had loads of homework to make up. Rosamunde, being the nice and intelligent girl she is, told Izzy, “If you get stuck, I could help” (169) showing that she was always there to aid her. Finally, when Izzy made her return back to school, she had an incident where she accidentally tripped and landed on her face. Of course, Rosamunde showed up to save the day once again. She helped her up and got people to go away by saying, “Hey, she’s fine, she’s just doing this for attention” (257). She even stayed with her until they arrived late to class, and then she made an excuse to cover for Izzy. She told the teacher she “Had an emergency and Izzy helped me out” (259). Although Rosamunde wasn’t one of Izzy’s closest friends before the incident, she stuck with her through the difficult times, and that’s what mattered most.
Rosamunde’s upfront honesty and ability to tell it how it is also helped support Izzy.
During Rosamunde’s first visit to the hospital to see Izzy, the first thing she said was, “You look terrible” (88), which goes to show how blunt of a person she is. Unlike everyone who was thinking this but avoiding it, Rosamunde had the courage to ask Izzy, “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” (95), which ultimately helped Izzy face reality. What happened, happened and if everyone pretended like everything remained normal, Izzy would never be able to move on. Lastly, when Rosamunde walked in on a phone call between Izzy and her brother, she thought whoever was on the other end of the phone line was distressing Izzy. Thinking she was having Izzy’s back and helping her, she stole the phone away and told Izzy’s brother, “I don’t know what you were saying, but whatever it was it wasn’t any too smart”...“you’d better hang up, hadn’t you?” (110). At the time, Rosamunde didn’t realize the other person on the phone was Izzy’s brother, but she was just trying to protect Izzy’s feelings, and it’s the thought that counts. Telling the truth and being upfront is key to any relationship, and that’s a main reason why Rosamunde was able to connect with and support
Izzy. Rosamunde does have a few downfalls, however, when Izzy's other friends couldn't see past her physical injury, Rosamunde treated her as though nothing ever happened and stayed by her side. It was apparent that one of Izzy’s friends, Lauren, couldn’t handle seeing Izzy after the accident because when she came to visit, she “came up and put a bouquet of flowers on the table top, then retreated back to the doorway” (44). Lauren kept avoiding Izzy and soon began not even coming to see her anymore when Izzy’s other friends, Suzy and Lisa, did. Rosamunde began to visit Izzy subsequent to her accident which showed she truly liked Izzy for her personality and could overlook her injury, unlike Lauren. Also, Suzy and Lisa were forced by their parents to come visit Izzy, whereas Rosamunde actually enjoyed accompanying Izzy and did it freely. One night, Suzy and Lisa showed up once again to Izzy’s hospital room, but Izzy knew it was only because “someone had given them an earful” (78) to come and see her. After a while, Lisa and Suzy stopped showing up all together as well, but Rosamunde remained as her one genuine friend. Even Izzy’s sister had a hard time adjusting to seeing Izzy’s new appearance. When Izzy came back home and her sister Francie first saw her, “She rushed toward me and then stopped dead in her tracks, staring” (148). Francie also didn't like all the changes that came with Izzy returning home, including the relocation of her room, the renovations to accommodate Izzy's wheelchair, and the special attention she was receiving. This obviously didn't make Izzy feel welcome or at home, and she felt guilty for making other people's lives change and revolve around her special needs. Rosamunde, however, was one of the few people to make Izzy feel comfortable and like she belonged. Many people close to Izzy couldn’t handle or adjust to seeing Izzy’s injury, but Rosamunde did immediately and that’s what allowed her to succeed with Izzy in ways other people couldn't.
Part of the reason why Izzy was able to overcome such a difficult obstacle in her life was because Rosamunde played one of the biggest roles during her recovery: she never left her side, she remained upfront and honest, and saw her for her personality and not her disability when others couldn't. Cynthia Voigt manifested an important message throughout the story: don't take the little things for granted because in a blink of an eye, everything can be taken away. Izzy realized this after losing half a limb and understanding how many daily functions can't be performed with just one and a half legs. It's hard to realize how crucial something is until one day it's just gone. However, with a friend alongside and someone showing support, like Rosamunde, terrible tragedies can become just a little less overwhelming and little more bearable.