Who Could Resist?

Author's Note:
This is my essay for the Novel Speak. I chose to write a character analysis of Andy Evans.

What if you were surrounded by a bomb, just waiting to go off, every second of your life?  How would it feel to never know if you were going to be the next victim?  In the novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, a senior named Andy Evans was very similar to a bomb.  He caused pain in people's lives and never stood up and took responsibility for it.  His character is introduced as being narcissistic, good looking and perverted, and this lethal combination is exactly why he can cause so much damage; no one ever sees him coming.

There are three stages of a bomb, the first is initial damage--hurt from the explosion.  The first stage of Andy Evans is the initial hurt of him attacking the girls.  He preys on younger classmen and knows that they won't stop him.  At the party referenced in Speak, he took advantage of Melinda when she was drunk and she didn't know what she had gotten herself into.  Once Melinda started her bathroom stall of stories about Andy, she realized just how many people he had gotten to.  His affect on all these girls are just the start of Andy's damage.

The second stage of a bomb is future damage--cancer, radiation exposure and so forth.  Andy's second stage is also future hurt because his victims never seem to tell anyone what he did.  Melinda was unable to communicate to anyone what Andy did to her, and calling the police got her shunned from the rest of her school.  This sudden confusion after his attacks can create problems in his victim's lives, creating his second stage of hurt.

The third stage of a bomb is potential damage--contaminating others, genetic disorders if passed down, and unknown radiation spots.  Andy's third stage is, again, potential hurt because no girl wants to accept that he can do all these acts with other girls, and fall into his trap.  His looks, charm, and constant change make him the perfect crush for any girl, but after you fall into his trap, you cannot get out.  The bathroom stall got remarks such as "Guys to Stay Away From: Andy Evans" "He's a creep." "Stay away!!!!!" "He should be locked up." "He thinks he's all that." "Call the cops." "What's the name of that drug they give perverts so they can't get it up?" " I went out with him to the movies - he tried to get his hands down my pants during the PREVIEWS!!" These statements from all these girls just show how emotionless he truly is.  Again, his lethal combination of characteristics makes him the perfect gift, but unwrap the bow and he's a self centered, masochistic type of guy he his.

Good looks + charm + fun personality = Andy Evans. What girl wouldn't fall into this trap?  He goes off like a bomb and you never know when IT's going to explode.