I Am the Messenger Question #1
Explain why Ed goes along with the messages written on the cards instead of just throwing them away or ignoring them. The messages give Ed a purpose. They give him the chance to be someone else, someone better than the old Ed Kennedy. They give him the chance to be great. Ed thinks, “You never know… one day there might be a few select people who’ll say, ‘Yes, Dylan was on the brink of stardom when he was nineteen… And at nineteen, Ed Kennedy found that first card in the mail’” (Zusak 36). His whole life, Ed was never something special. He was the only one of his siblings to stay in town and yet he had the worst relationship with his mom. He was a cab driver who lived alone and only had three real friends.
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He hasn’t done anything to make himself better; he just hopes he’ll be able to. As he continues delivering the messages, he has moments of realization that he needs to change, and he finally has the power to do so. One of these instances is when Ed is talking to Ritchie about life and his job. Ed says, “And I wouldn’t call driving a taxi a real job.” Ritchie responds, “What would you call it?” and Ed replies, “An excuse” (Zusak 304). In this moment, Ed comprehends that everything, including his job is just an excuse for not being better. He already has a job so he doesn’t need to go find one he actually likes. He has a house, so what’s the point of moving to a nicer town. He comes to understand just how much of his life was made of excuses and he decides to not let them hold him down anymore. Ed knows he has to change, and he does—gradually. Ed states, “If I ever leave this place… I’ll make sure I’m better here first” (Zusak 283). When Ed says this to his mom, he means it. No longer will he just run away from his problems, from his life. He’ll face them and change himself for the better before leaving, so as not to run away, but to settle somewhere