Contemporary Relevance

Teen Issue 

   The main issue that was explored in this book " The End Of The World As We Know It " by Lesley Choyce", was depression and rejection. Sometimes we all play a role in this, we may hurt someone or reject someone that may affect someone in the long run. As teenagers we don’t think about depression, we leave that for the adults, but that's not always the case, there are many people who do harmful things to themselves because of it.

   Family's play a big role in depression, they can break you or lift you, but in this crazy world you just never know what's next.  In this book Christine was rejected by her parents for their selfish desires. Carson was depressed and hated the world for no apparent reason.  No one took care of Christine she grew up by herself , naive to what love meant. Many of us look through people like that, we may not know what happens behind closed doors.  Trusting someone may be the hardest thing to do, Carson and Christine trusted each other, they both felt safe with each other's company.

   Effects of depression, in this book, the effects of depression on Christine was brutal because she had cut herself. It makes me sad to think that she thought that her parents leaving her were somehow her fault. But I realized teenagers seem to do that, you blame yourself because you can't seem to accept your loved ones mistakes. Carson is resentful, he is just always moody and always scares people away. Depression affects the people around you too, for example, Carson's parents love him but they can't seem to understand his behaviour so they sent to him a school filled with kids who are dealing with similar things. In this world, many people suicide because of depression there is help but everyone is good at hiding things so it's hard to tell who is going through what. So that's why it is important to always show love towards those who resent because behind the hatred there is pain. Just like Carson, he looks like he is always angry and Christine looks like she doesn’t want to be bothered, but that's just a cover, to hide their hurt inside.

   Causes of depression are a lot of things, and though Carson's never was specified I think he was overwhelmed with everything he had. His parents were rich and his brother always seemed to do better than him. I think that may have cause Carson to give up on things; jealousy. Christine was depressed because she always got rejected as she grew up, there was always arguing between, her father and mother. Sometimes to fix everything is LOVE, and that's how Carson and Christine helped each other out. They both cared and loved for one another and brought this satisfaction that they never had.

   You can get help from kids help phone 1-800-668-6868.  You can ask them anything, and you can open up to them. They will be there for you, they will a listening ear when others have turned theirs away.    


Melinda Smith, M.A., and Suzanne Barston wrote this article, with contributions by Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. Last reviewed: November 2010. May, 15,2010   
http://helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen.htm