Adira's final grade nine essay!

In both of these texts, in the novel Break Every Rule, and in the television show Gossip Girl, the main themes are friendship and jealousy. Jealousy ultimately serves to play a role in pulling the friendships and relationships apart, Usually with the help of outsiders, their friendship is almost destroyed, but in the end their friendships survive because the people involved really care about each other deep inside. The tensions between characters also serve to highlight the problems between them, and even give characters an excuse to acknowledge their issues.

 In the novel Break Every Rule there is a group of boys who have been friends since they were young children. There is Arno the “It” boy of the group, Jonathan, has an amazing girlfriend but let’s jealousy get to him, Arno, Jonathans European stepbrother who is a evil person, and David a classic nerd who gets pushed into being someone he’s not. They all are fighting over who gets the title of "Hottest Private School Boy." It becomes even more complicated when Arno wins and the boys become either jealous of him or are forced to become his sidekick. When Rob, an outsider who is also Jonathan's European stepbrother comes to visit, he tries to pull the boys friendship apart. They end up having serious miscommunication and jealousy issues with each other. Jonathan becomes jealous of Arno and starts to feel like an outsider He is worried that Flan his girlfriend is cheating on him with David, David who was kind of a nerd, was hanging out with Arno and part of Arno’s “In” group; "David was cooler then me now and Flan would like him better." In the end everyone who started being friends with Arno when he became “HPSB” forgets about him, he feels used by the girls who were always around when he was “The cool kid.” Flan and Jonathan break up, they still love each other but Flan was mad that Jonathan didn’t trust her and that there were so many miscommunications with each other. “The last couple of weeks have been like this: full of the exquisite agony of a thousand little fights and misunderstandings.” Everyone in the book soon realizes that they all still care deeply about each other and that Rob and outsiders were trying to pull them apart. The boys soon discover that all of this wouldn’t have happened if they had communicated with each other.

Miscommunication plays a huge role in the troubles of this book. The boys become frustrated with each other because they feel like the other one is too busy being “Cooler” and with “Cooler people” than the other one. When Jonathan found David and Flan whispering he assumed that they were cheating with each other but what also played a role was his insecurity about not feeling like he was hot and popular enough. "I couldn't believe he got to meet celebrities and get photographed and written about. And then I realized that David was cooler than I was now, Maybe Flan would like him more than me. There was something not right about that little scene, them whispering out in the hallway." Since assuming this he starting giving David the cold shoulder "You better drink this up, and then get out of my apartment as fast as you can." Since Jonathan was rude to David, he jumped at the opportunity to fight back at Jonathan. Rob came to David looking to destroy Jonathan his Stepbrother; "David I'm making this my number one priority, right after the Hot School Boy party. Flan will be yours again!" Even though David didn't even have feelings for Flan anymore. David still went along with it because; "Thinking about the way Jonathan had completely abandoned him, and how he'd asked David to leave his house that night… well, David felt like this might just be what he deserved." Really Rob is just trying to tear the boys friendship apart. "I'm just working on my scrapbook, want to see…" Rob showed Jonathon a scrapbook of David and Flan together starting at one end of the room and making their way towards each other; "The pictures kept getting closer and closer like a horrible flip book… until Flan was sitting on David’s lap” If the boys would have just sat down and talked about what was happening everything would have been avoided. Jonathan and David realized that it was a total miscommunication. They realized that they needed each other and it wasn't worth fighting over. One of the major miscommunications with David and Jonathan is When they were at a club Jonathan saw David run out of the room; “If I needed any more proof that David was really and truly after my girl-then I got it Friday night, when he ran out of the lounge at 66 Thomson at the very sight of me and Flan together.” Really what happened was David was upset at Rob for saying something so rude and so he wouldn’t seem uncool he left the room, and didn’t see Jonathan and Flan.

Arno who was nominated “Hottest Private School Boy” started acting entitled and as if he was greater than the other boys; "I don't even want to know, its like I need an intern to manage my social calendar.” He starts putting the other boys down and making them feel like he was better than his friends; “He didn’t think that he was an average guy, but it was hotter to shrug off his new celebrity.”

He hangs around with 3 girls; Mimi, Sadie and Lizzie. “She was pretty, in the same way the It Girls were pretty. She had long, straight blond hair with shiny skin two shades darker than her hair…all the girls seemed plastic and identical.”

The girls follow Arno everywhere. Arno seems to thinks that they actually like him until, He figures out that they were having a competition, which one of them could “Hook up with him most while still on the newsstand.” The day after his party when he tries to call the girls they didn’t answer. Arno finally realizes that when the HPSB issues go out so does he; “It was the Hottest Private School Boy issue, lots of them, wrapped up and put at the curb to be recycled. They hadn’t escaped the rain.”

At the end of the book, the boy’s realize that Rob is a terrible and manipulative person who would do anything for fame and fortune. Jonathan’s mom, who is also Rob’s stepmom, tells him that Rob set David up to look like he stole her credit card and Rolodex. but Just as the police came to arrest him one of the officers said “this is utterly beneath contempt, but at the same time it’s…. very, well, it’s very impressive”. Just as she said this, Rob couldn’t handle someone else getting the credit that he burst out that he did it and got arrested instead.  “Yes, it seems he fancied himself something of a party promoter. Rob my ATM card and my Rolodex, and he took out quite a bit of money to finance his schemes of nightlife glory.”

Miscommunication plays a big part in this episode of the television show Gossip girl. The main problem is that Serena thinks that her best friend Blair is having an affair with her ex boyfriend Dan. She’s insulted that they think she would be upset if she found out, which, she would be but doesn’t want to admit. Another problem brewing is that the society women start to gang up on Lily, Serena’s mother because she under house arrest, for committing fraud and obstruction of justice. It’s clear that all these problems come have the same theme; they don’t want to talk about it; "Wait, you want me to TALK to her about my suspicions? That's not how we DO things on the Upper East Side!"

 In the beginning Serena and Charlie try and find out if Blair and Dan are having an affair, Which all would have been avoided if they had just asked her straight out and had more trust in their friendship. Serena assumes that her friends are together just like Jonathan assumed Flan and David were having an affair. Serena and Jonathan clearly are using these imaginary affairs as an excuse to acknowledge the problems in their relationship. When Serena finds out that Blair has a date with Prince Louise, who she met in Paris. Serena is relieved but we see that doesn’t last long. At the end of the episode she and Blair have a falling out. Blair makes a plan to kiss Dan so that Prince Louise doesn’t have to get sent back. Serena sees this and get upset again. Blair explains why she did it but Serena doesn’t believe her, Blair says, “You prefer when you’re the one in the spotlight…. You could have a taste of what its like to be in my shadow for once.” We see that at the end Serena calls another royal whom she met in Paris. Clearly she does feel the need to always upstage Blair.

Meanwhile at the Pink party where Blair and Dan kiss there is another problem brewing. Before the party Society women stand lily up when they were suppose to come to her apartment to put gift bags together and then Nate’s mother has the nerve to ask if she can have the food Lily ordered sent to the new venue. But then Rufus, Lily’s husband wants to get the Pink party moved to their apartment by using minor blackmail. Lily is so pleased but meanwhile the society women are whispering about her and “Toasting to [her] misfortune.” In the end Lily shuts down her own party by getting the police involved.

What we learn here is that no matter what, mean people come in many shapes and sizes, with multiple opinions and ways that they bully. Mean people are everywhere and anywhere.