Cathy Xue "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" Response
"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" focuses on the protagonist Greg. Greg is a high school senior who prefers to remain invisible and not get too involved with other classmates. His only friend is Earl. Though Greg sometimes hangs out with Earl, he does not seem to have a real friend who he can share his life and interests with. As mentioned in the lecture, having friends is a precursor to self esteem and romantic relationships(Lecture slide). Having a friendship that is mutual is protective which serves as a strong resilience factor for a person. Greg’s fearness of making friends might be because of the complex and often fraught relationships that teenagers have with their peers, including
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Rachel is Greg’s classmate. Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia. At first, Greg is hesitant to spend time with Rachel because of his introvert ; yet, with the more time they spend together, they develop a genuine connection. It is a normal thing to see a person who makes a cross sex friend. As mentioned in the lecture, although same sex friendships are more common, cross sex friendships are also frequent. In Kate Murphy’s passage of “Do Your Friends ActuallyLike You?”She states that “friends are people you take the time to understand and allow to understand you.”(2) With the more time they spend together, they become closer and more connected. In addition,making friends can also help to correlate with better social skills, problem/conflict resolution, etc. Nevertheless, as the story progresses, Rachel's health deteriorates; Seeing Rachel become so wealthy, Greg, Earl, and Rachel's family come together to support her. Along the way, Greg learns valuable life lessons about the importance of friendship, empathy, and acceptance. As Rachel's health gets worse, Greg and Earl provide her with much-needed companionship and comfort, showing how friendships can provide a source of strength and resilience during difficult times. This again reflects the concept of how friendship can serve as a resilience force when facing