Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

Lubar focuses on the motif of change in this section while also demonstrating Scott’s emergence as a talented writer. The most significant change is in Scott’s relationship with Lee. Despite his reluctance to be associated with the ostracized girl, he finds that they share common interests. Ironically, while he can’t work up the courage to talk to Julia, he easily “happened to walk past Lee’s table at lunch” (127) and strike up a conversation about Byron’s poem The Giaour. Scott’s conversation with Lee abruptly ends when he realizes that the popular girls at the table have “lumped me in with Lee as someone to avoid” (127), and he leaves her after refusing her offer to bring him the book. Scott is leery of not fitting in, but he is making inroads into forging his own identity by stopping to talk to Lee. However, when Lee returns to school after being absent and gives Scott a copy of the poem, he is horrified by the bandages on her wrists. Even though Lee tells him that she hurt herself in the kitchen, Scott immediately assumes that she has cut herself, stereotyping her as self-harming because of her appearance. Lubar employs Scott’s first-person limited perspective to indirectly characterize Lee as a victim of the school’s social hierarchy, a perception further supported when Scott tears the sign off her locker to protect her feelings. Lee challenges Scott’s perception, however, when she wears the shirt with “FREAKY BITCH” (160) printed on it. Rather than being hurt by the slur, Lee appears invigorated by it, and her refusal to be cowed by the cruelty of other students indicates that she should not be stereotyped as a victim. Because Scott’s naivety makes him an unreliable narrator, Lubar creates an opportunity for readers to examine the assumptions students make about others based on appearances, supporting the theme of Appearances Versus Reality: Seeing Beyond the Stereotypes.

Like Scott, Kyle is also worried about his place in the high school hierarchy. He joins the wrestling team to fit in and urges Scott to do the same. As Kyle is Scott’s oldest friend, it is ironic that he doesn’t realize that Scott doesn’t identify as an athlete; his interests are books and writing. Their divergent interests drive the changing dynamic between the two friends; Kyle, who has been provoking Scott since they started high school about his academic interests, switches his allegiance to the wrestling team. This contrasts with Scott’s loyalty to his friends even when overwhelmed with the newspaper and student council. Kyle’s identity as an individual does not change—he simply joins a group of compatible jocks. On the other hand, Scott is branching out of his comfort zone and discovering new talents and passions.

Irony drives many of the changes that Scott undergoes. He joins the newspaper, student council, and the crew of the spring play to court Julia, but Julia never makes the cut for any of the activities. Mandy chooses him to cover sports when she ironically mistakes his love for Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Raven, for an interest in football. Rather than employ a standard sports writing model for his articles, Scott builds his writing skills by using literary techniques from English class. Even his reference to The Three Musketeers is ironic, as the novel is about the dissolution of the musketeers as much as it is about their adventures. And while Scott tries desperately to fit in, the books he most admires are about outliers; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and Outsiders by S. E. Hinton have themes of victimization, bullying, and moral responsibility with protagonists who are non-conformists. Scott’s taste in literature foreshadows that he may forego fitting in to stand up for others. It is also ironic that Scott talks more with Mouth, who is a misfit, than with anyone else at school.

Scott’s internal conflict at school also stems from his own moral compass. He doesn’t want to accept favors from Lee because he’s afraid she will consider him a friend. However, he feels obligated to shield her from the slur scrawled on her sign. He assists Mouth when Mouth gives his lunch money to Wesley Cobble but doesn’t stand up for him when Kyle refuses to let him sit with them at lunch. Ironically, his situation is reversed when Kyle doesn’t invite him to sit at the wrestler’s table. Scott also doesn’t help Sheldon Murmbower when Sheldon is the victim of older classmates on the bus and subsequently becomes the victim once Sheldon stops riding the bus. The experience of seeing bullying firsthand and being a victim himself of exclusion and bullying gives Scott empathy toward those who are vulnerable at school.

At home, Scott starts to accept his changing role in the family. Mom and Dad focus on Bobby’s well-being and preparing for the baby’s birth and don’t have as much time for Scott anymore. He is an outsider in his own home. During Thanksgiving, he doesn’t belong with the women discussing childbirth in the kitchen or the men watching football, so he retreats to his room to write. Scott’s journal becomes the vehicle for him to examine thoughts he won’t voice to his friends and family, and his self-reflection exposes lies he tells himself. In the journal, he is honest about how he pleases other people rather than standing up for himself, which helps him eliminate the self-deception that discourages his self-growth.