Am I Blue?

     In the story "Am I Blue?" the author, Bruce Coville, writes about a boy named Vincent. In the story Vincent is bullied by a boy named Butch Carrigan. Butch bullies Vincent based on his sexuality. Since Vince is bullied and made fun of so much, he has a hard time trusting Melvin, his "fairy godfather" who comes along in the story to actually help Vince figure out who he is, and reassure him that he is not alone. I believe that the theme of this story is to never judge a book by its cover. I think this is the theme of the story because the author incorporates a lot of things such as the fact that Vince gets bullied just because one kid assumes he is gay. Another thing that represents judging a book by its cover is how it was extremely surprising to everyone that some people like cops, and soldiers, and farmers, and teachers live a gay life style. People are usually so quick to judge and think that just because they might have a more masculine or feminine profession, they are definitely not homosexual.

     One situation in the story that represents judging a book by its cover is how Vince gets bullied by this one kid, Butch Carrigan, who just assumes he is gay. Butch could not have truthfully known that Vince was gay because Vince had not even figured that out for himself. I feel as if this situation is not only a conflict in this one story but a conflict all around the world. Kids get bullied all the time for there sexuality, whether they are truthfully gay or they aren't and they just get called offensive names for no reason. This is like how in "Am I Blue?" Butch says "You little fruit, I'll teach you to look at me!". When Butch said this, he was just making fun of Vincent. Personally, I would never bully someone based on their sexuality and I would not hang around people who do.

     Another situation in the story that represents judging a book by its cover was how it was extremely surprising to everyone that some people like cops, and soldiers, and farmers, and teachers live a gay life style. This is a good example of how people judge a book by its cover because when you think of, for example, a male truck driver and then someone tells you he is homosexual the first thing some people think is, "really?". I think that if I were the truck driver, I would be pretty offended. I also think that a lot of people are holding back from being who they really are because they know that other people will be quick to judge.

     I believe that the author of this story "Am I Blue?" Bruce Coville was trying to send the message to never judge a book by its cover. If people are judged based on the way they look or talk then it could hurt feelings and even lives. I would hope that one day people c`an have gay rights legally and socially.