Change In Rylant's A Crush

“Step into this experience with butterflies in your bones; with a nervous feeling so beautiful, you know your doing something right” (D. Antoinette Foy). Experiences can lead to the discovery for change. In Cynthia Rylant’s A Crush, Ernie the main character goes through many changes that positively impacted him, for he experienced life for the first time. In the beginning of the story Ernie lived an isolated life, with no contact from the outside world. The death of Ernie’s beloved mother was the start of a positive change in his life. One of the many changes that Ernie endured was learning how to live life. The only life that Ernie knew was sitting in front of the television eating Nutter Butters. It wasn’t till after his mother’s death that he realized that isn’t the way to live life. After the tragedy he went outside more, he went to breakfast with his friend weekly and enjoyed gardening. He also learned how to interact with others. He built a great relationship with a man named Jack, who worked at the home he lived in. Jack helped him on his journey to becoming “human”. What “human” means

When his mother was alive he stayed inside his small house and stared at the television all day long. He never went outside to play or just to enjoy the weather. Since Ernie’s life was so isolated he didn’t know anyone other than his mother, and he had no friends or family. When his mother died he was placed into a group home, since he had a mental illness, and couldn’t live on his own. He lived in the “large white house” where he developed social skills. He also became friends with a worker at the group home named Jack. “Ernie would not be able to speak in sentences till he was six….at age twelve he would be able to understand a joke.” (Rylant 70.) Although Ernie had a mental disability he was not given the opportunity to make friends or live a somewhat normal life until his beloved mother