The Spectacular Now Essay

Words: 857
Pages: 4

As a society, we deem certain books unsuitable for school because it’s offensive or vulgar or it promotes activities and lifestyles that we don’t support. The Spectacular Now is able to get readers attention by showing that not every story has a happy ending, which many people can easily relate to. Keeping that in mind, The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp should be a part of the English IV curriculum at Garfield High School. The novel is a good story that portrays teens coming across modern love and adulthood. The novel has lessons and characters that are easily relatable. Some lessons include having a sense of direction and living in the now. If the novel were to be part of the English IV curriculum, many teens would be able to understand modern …show more content…
It’s not some big addiction. It’s just a hobby, a good, old-fashioned way to have fun” (Tharp 27). His drinking clouds his judgment - like most alcoholics- but he’s always drinking a bottle of 7-Up laced with whiskey. Sutter has had a somewhat tough childhood and romantic relationships, all of which left him alone; all he wants is someone to love him. In hopes of being loved, Sutter tries to do things for others, like driving Walter home. But when he’s at a party, he wants to be liked by everyone; his solution: be the center of attention. Sutter seeks people’s approval and will do anything to get it. Why? Because being reckless is liberating and you don’t have to fear the consequences or people’s opinions in that moment. Usually people would move on from that but Sutter just so happens to be stuck. He has come to the conclusion that living in the ‘spectacular now’ means getting drunk and not caring about what others think about him. Many teens can relate because they want to find out who they really are and will try to experiment to see where they belong in society. Having the novel be a part of the English IV curriculum will result in teens avoiding Sutter’s