A Work in Progress

Choose a page or series of pages from the novel and analyze its typological features (the arrangement of the text on the page, spacing, capital letters, etc.). How do the typographical features from your chosen section contribute to your understanding of the content of the novel? How would the tone or impact change if the content was oriented differently on the page?

What role does secrecy or lack of communication play in the novel? Examine moments when Will chooses not to speak up or be entirely open about his struggles. What emotional factors or fears influence his decision to not confide in others? How does this impact his relationships with peers and family members and his feelings toward Authenticity, Friendship, and What It Means to Be Seen?

Choose one or more of Will’s drawings to write an essay about. How does this drawing contribute to the novel’s meaning and key themes? What does it symbolize? Does it add new, nuanced, or enhanced meaning to the written text? Use textual evidence to support your answer.

What message does Lerner present in the novel about the importance of friends and positive support systems? How does Will feel ostracized by the people and support structures around him? How do support systems stand by him through the novel’s action? How do they let him down?

Citing examples from the text, what opinions does Will have about what kinds of foods are “good” and what kinds of foods are “bad”? What effect do these opinions have on his mental and physical health throughout the novel? What does he learn about the idea of “good” and “bad” foods by the end of the novel?

How does Will’s understanding of success and failure evolve throughout the novel? What role does “perfectionism” play in Will’s defining of his self-worth? How do his experiences, relationships, and new perspective toward handling challenges by the novel’s end reshape his understanding of what it means to make progress or succeed?

At the end of the novel, though Will tries to see himself differently, he still looks in the mirror and sees a “monster.” Why does the novel end this way, and what commentary does it offer regarding Individual and Systemic Anti-Fat Bias? Is the end of the novel still hopeful? Why or why not?

Will ends up understanding himself better because of his new relationship with skateboarding. Write a personal narrative essay about a sport, hobby, or interest of your own that helps you understand yourself better. How does your chosen topic compare or contrast to Will’s relationship to skateboarding?