Zits 'Shame In The Things They Carried' By Alice Walker

Many people think that most of the teenagers in our generation are very confident and happy, especially because we believe that they don’t have anything to worry about. For Zits things are very different, due to the fact that shame is a painful feeling that plays a big role in his life. Zits says “I’m dying from about ninety-nine kinds of shame. I’m ashamed of being fifteen years old. And being tall. And skinny. And ugly. I’m ashamed that I look like a bag of zits tied to a broomstick” (4). In a point of his life, Zits became so ashamed by his appearance that he even names himself from it. However, he does not make effort to change his appearance because he does not feel valued in society. His mother’s absence and father’s betrayal made Zits become lonely and more ashamed of his life. It hurts him to see kids with their
Transforming himself into the Indian boy made him stronger than his feelings. Zits had the option to kill the white soldier in order to get revenge from the happening, but he knew that killing the soldier would not make him feel any better. I say this because he choose not to let his revenge or shame take control over him. In the book The New Science of Learning author states that those with growth mindset “Challenges and see failure as a message that they need to change tacks in order to succeed next time” (86). This quote applies to Zits, because he is learning to express the reality of his suffering (as opposed to shutting himself off, as he has previously done), but he is more importantly learning that he can confront his pain without letting it lead him to unjust violence. However, at the end of the novel Zits realized that every human struggle with different degrees of shame, and that helped him to understand that we all have the opportunity to change, and turn negative things into positive