Essay Questions

How could Rachel act conventional and brave when she knew that she was going to die?

Rachel was just as, or even more so knowledgeable of the fact that she was going to die as everyone around her was. Yet, she acted a lot more “normal” than the people that knew of her and her condition did. That wasn’t because she didn’t take her illness seriously or because she didn’t believe she would die, but because she was brave, strong and very intelligent. She didn’t let the illness define her and lived her life to the fullest each and every second she could.

Why did Greg choose to not have any close friends?

Greg chose to not have any close friends out of self- preservation. He was a person with low self-esteem, believed he had low worth and was an easy target for bullies. Instead of facing his fears of bullies in high school and enjoying life as much as he could, he decided to let his phobias turn him into a coward. He didn’t get close enough to anyone to let them see the sides of him they might not like, or even just find quirky, like the movies he made. He even refused to call his friend Earl “friend”, and called him “co-worker” instead, just to be cautious.

How did Greg know Rachel from before he befriended her because of his mother’s request?

Greg knew Rachel before he started talking to her, as ordered by his mother. That was because of Rachel’s best friend, Leah. Leah was pretty, and Greg made a plan; in order to get close to the beautiful Leah, he needed to get close to her best friend first ( this being Rachel), then he could make his move. That was how Greg was acquainted with Rachel, and because he didn’t want to admit the true reason of why he befriended her, he had to talk to her at his mother’s request.