Donald Zinkoff In Jerry Spinelli's Loser

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson tells the world that it is okay to be who you are and that people shouldn’t listen to others who are going to try to change them. Donald Zinkoff, the energetic and unique protagonist in Jerry Spinelli’s book Loser achieves individuality inadvertently. Donald Zinkoff is a young boy that lives with his mom, dad, and baby sister Polly in a suburban ‘brick-and hoagie’ town. The book follows Zinkoff’s life starting in first grade where he starts to show that he is positive, kind, and impatient at John W. Satterfield Elementary going up to Monroe Middle School. During that time no matter what people

When Zinkoff attends his first day of school as a first grader he approaches the playground out at recess with his big three foot giraffe hat. Some other kids out on the playground took the hat from him and wore it. One fourth grader decided to stomp on the hat and claim it to be his to get a reaction from Zinkoff. Instead of throwing a tantrum, like most first graders, Zinkoff is so naive that he has to look on the bright side. He thought that when the fourth grade boy said the hat was his that it was, Zinkoff felt glad that he had found it. “Zinkoff picks up the hat. Pieces of grit cling to the fuzzy surface. Suddenly the tall boy turns and looks back. Zinkoff drops the hat in case the boy wishes to step on it again.” (pg. 24) This shows Zinkoff is positive because he’s not thinking about his possessions, just about making other people happy. Another example of Zinkoff being cheerful occurred when his team were not being very good sports after losing a soccer game. Zinkoff noticed his teammates were they were throwing fits, yelling and screaming, and acting like babies that weren’t getting their way. “The Titans and the Ramblers are patting hands down the line like dominos, pat pat pat pat, no sour pusses on the Ramblers, who keep saying ‘Good game, good game, good game…’ and Zinkoff is the only Titan saying ‘Good game’ back” (Pg. 44) During this scenario Zinkoff stayed happy

For example he is very impatient. When his baby sister, Polly, was born she got two stars as a reward. Zinkoff was jealous because he had never received two stars at a time before. His mom made a deal with him. “He hates to wait, but loves to make deals.” (Pg. 35) This example proves that Zinkoff was impatient because he wanted the two stars Polly obtained right then. Another example from the text was when Zinkoff made a huge snicker-doodle for Andrew. He wants to bake without help and doesn’t want to wait to take it over to his neighbor’s house. “Impatient as always he cannot wait for it to cool” (Pg. 38) This shows that Zinkoff is impatient because he kept trying to bring the cookie to Andrew but it was too hot to touch without an oven