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Schule > Englisch > Nick McDonell - Twelve - reading log and interpretation

Chapter 65 - Textinterpretation "Twelve"

Many teenagers in the novel Twelve have problems with their parents or a bad relationship to them because they do not care enough about their children. This gets even more obvious in the scene as Jessica meets her mother for brunch.
The reason for Jessicas mum to have lunch with her daughter seems to be Jessicas report card. Instead of meeting her daughter just to talk to her, she invites her just for the reason to ask her, why her grades dropped. Otherwise they would not have met (It is not something, they do. They are not best friends., p. 159, line 4). But also Jessica does not want to improve the relationship to her mother. She could tell her mother about her problems but instead of doing this, she stays silent.

Another thing that becomes clear in this scene is that Jessicas mother sets her daughter under pressure to get good grades for her college appli-cations. So she is just interested in her daughters career. To be sure she says that it was always Jessicas fathers wish that Jessica should attend a famous and excellent college but it seems clear that she is also interested in this; maybe it is in fact her wish and not the wish of her husband.
The only positive thing is that Jessicas mother thinks about her daughter having problems. It could have been even worse and she could have thought that all of Jessicas problems were caused just by her laziness or her listlessness. Unfortunately this was even the only insight of her. At this point she could have talked to Jessica by herself but instead of doing this she wants Jessica to go to a psychologist.

Her mother thinks that this could help because she also made the experience of talking to a psychologist and found this was a quite good chance to talk about her problems and to get a judgement from a person that is not so close. Maybe that shows that the mother would feel herself too close to her daughter when they would talk about problems and does not want to solve her daughters problems by herself because they could be a burden on her. This would show how far away Jessica is for her mother and how bad the mother-daughter-relationship is in their case.

At this point Jessica mentions that she will not need a psychologist because she would not know about what to talk to the psychologist because she has no real problems. Nevertheless Jessicas mother thinks this was a good idea because her psychologist always helped her with her issues. Now Jessica could have talked to her mother why she does not need a psychologist but in place of this she just agrees to her mother to avoid a longer discussion and promises her mother to make an appointment with the psychologist.
Now Jessicas mother is happy about her daughters decision (Youll be happy you went., p. 160, line 21). Altogether also Jessica is content with her decision because so her mother will not find out about her real problems because she thinks it is all right as long as Jessica goes to the psy-chologist and besides, Jessica knows that a lot of the girls at her school also go to psychologists and most of them do not tell them about their real problems. Therefore Jessica does not really intend to tell the psychologist about her real problems like Twelve and her drug abuse.

Altogether this excerpt can be seen as a typical situation between one of these kids and their rich nave parents. These parents think they have already enough own problems and so they want be burdened by the problems of their children. Actually they loose their relationship to their children more and more and I could think about Jessicas mother to be quite shocked if she would find out about her daughters drug abuse. But maybe she would be less shocked if she had spent more time with her daughter and would know her better. I think this text passage shows a very important reason for all this kids being so crazy and criminal.

Ausführliche tabellarische Zusammenfassung betrachtet die Fragen je Kapitel: Who, When, Where, What, comments

	Who	When	Where	What	comments
-1-	- White Mike	- Friday 27th Dec	- Harlem	- Description of White Mike - White Mike’s dealing in Harlem - How White Mike started dealing	- White Mike’s mother’s dead - White Mike’s clean(never smoked, drunk, took drugs) - He left school half a year ago
-2-	- Hunter - Nana - Arturo - other kids	- Friday 27th Dec - evening	- Rec. (=gym)	- basketball game - troubles between Hunter & Nana - fight between Hunter & Nana - Nana gets hurt	- Hunter never wanted to cause any trouble - Nana’s quite aggressive
-3-	- White Mike - Hunter	- Friday 27th Dec - evening	- Rec. - McDonald’s	- conversation about White Mike dealing with drugs - conversation about school & college	- Hunter & White Mike were good friends - very rich parents - don’t care about school
-4-	- White Mike	- middle of fall	- NYC	- memory of a garbage can burning & kids around the fire	- White Mike’s very clever - thoughts about literature
-5-	- Hunter	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- NYC - apartment house	- Hunter walks trough the night - conversation with father about college - wants to walk again	- Hunter wants to seem cool & tough - parents don’t care much about him
-6-	- Nana	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- Manhattan - Harlem	- Nana walks home - sees two men, who are fighting - one man shoots the other - Nana gets also into trouble - Nana gets shot, too	- Nana has fear of his mother
-7-	- Sara - a girlfriend	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- on the way to Chris’ house	- conversation about Chris’ brother Claude, who took drugs, & Jessica’s nose-surgery - chatting about other girls	- rich girls - many labels - Sara’s very attractive
-8-	- White Mike	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- Chris’ party - NYC	- White Mike’s dealing with drugs - thoughts of all the rich kids	- quite depressive
-9-	- Chris - Sara	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- Chris’ Party	- Chris thinks about his last girlfriend - Chris is waiting for Sara - Sara arrives - everybody’s drunk	- Chris is handsome but has problems with acne - isn’t very self-confident - is looking for a girlfriend - Chris’ parents have a huge house - Jessica make’s out with somebody quite often
-10-	- Jessica	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- Chris’ Party	- description of Jessica - Jessica’s taking a new drug, called twelve - description of her reaction to the drug - memory about White Mike in school	- Jessica’s attractive, too - she takes drugs(cocaine)
-11-	- Sara	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- Chris’ Party	- Chris bores Sara - asks about her boyfriend
-12-	- Claude - Tobias, his friend	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- NYC	- description of Claude - Claude buys a lot of dangerous weapons - arranges the weapons carefully in his closet	- Claude’s still taking drugs - used to take much cocaine - he’s famous for hurting a kid bad - Tobias seems naive
-13-	- White Mike	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- at Mike’s apartment	- White Mike wants to occupy himself - White Mike’s report	- he liked to read Nietzsche - he was good at school - he can be off-putting
-14-	-Chris	- Friday 27th Dec - night	- Chris’ house	- Chris finds Jessica lying on the floor	- Chris feels very attracted to women
-15-	- White Mike	- a few years ago	- NYC	- memory of Mike bringing a girl home, that was afraid of a rapist
-16-	- detective	- Sat 28th Dec - morning	-Rec.	- the officer asks the kids at the rec. about Nana - Arturo incriminates Hunter - Hunter is arrested
-17-	- Hunter - White Mike - Warren - Charlie - Dorine, a Nanny	- in the childhood of the boys	- Central Park Zoo	- childhood memories - buying popguns - imagination of a conversation with Dorine
-18-	- Jessica - three friends	- Sat 28th Dec - morning	- Ice rink in Central Park	- girls go ice-skating - Jessica hurts a guy(Andrew), as he’s falling in front of her	- Jessica knows she’s smart - has superficial friends - girls think in the same way, aren’t individual
-19-	- Jessica - the girls	- Sat 28th Dec - morning	- NYC	- Jessica calls Chris & thanks him - she wants to get more of twelve
-20-	- Andrew - another guy(Sean) - Sara	- Sat 28th Dec - morning	- Lenox Hill Hospital	- Andrew gets there to be observed - Sara visits his boyfriend - she also chats with Andrew	- Andrew thinks there isn’t much to do for Hunter
-21-	- White Mike	- 3,5 years ago	- new flat of Mike & his father	- memories of Mike’s first night in his new room after his mother’s dead	- Mike’s mother died of breast cancer
-22-	- Sara - Chris	- Sat 28th Dec - morning	- NYC - Chris’ house	- Sara talks to Chris about a big party on New Years Eve & convinces him by kissing him - memory of a big party that Sara’s grandmother went to	- Sara want this party to be HER party
-23-	- White Mike - Lionel - Jessica	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- NYC	- Jessica buys drugs from Lionel and White Mike	- Lionel’s a creepy dealer - Lionel is brutal - Jessica never bought drugs by herself
-24-	- White Mike	-	- Mike’s apartment	- flashback of a night - Mike sees a orange brightness	- suspicious
-25-	- White Mike - Lionel	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- NYC	- Mike asks Lionel about Charlie - how Charlie & Mike always were good friends	- Charlie had changed since the last vacation - Charlie takes drugs
-26-	- Jessica	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- NYC	- Jessica walks happily trough the streets
-27-	- White Mike - Hunter	- flashback		- Mike never took drugs because he didn’t had the urge to
-28-	- Charlie	- memory	- NYC	- Charlie sells his mother’s necklace for going on vacation - Charlie buys a gun	- Charlie’s gun was the gun Lionel picked up after he shot Nana and Charlie
-29-	- Tobias	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- Tobias’ model agency	- Tobias thinks about his first ad and how he became a model	- Tobias doesn’t want to study, he wants to be a full-time-model
-30-	- Molly - Tobias	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- model agency	- description of Molly - flashback about Molly’s family vacation	- Molly’s interested in literature, Tobias not
-31-	- Tobias - Molly	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- model agency	- Tobias chats with Molly - Tobias shows her his piranhas	-Tobias is a poser
-32-	- Hunter	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- prison	- Hunter thinks about the last night and how he can proof, that he’s not the murder	- Hunter is desperate
-33-	- White Mike	- memory	- funeral	- memory of Mike’s mother’s funeral	- Mike is angry about his mother’s dead
-34-	- Chris	- Sat 28th Dec - noon	- Chris’ house	- Chris explores his mother’s wrapping room	- a wrapping room is ridiculous
-35-	- White Mike	- thoughts		- Mike’s thoughts about dying	- Mike doesn’t cares much about his life
-36-	- Chris - Claude	- Sat 28th Dec - night	- "Auntie’s” cocktail party	- conversation with a "hip” woman about music	- people want to be cool and stay young
-37-	- Jessica	- Sat 28th Dec - night	- Jessica’s home	- Jessica already took all the twelve
-38-	- White Mike	- Sat 28th Dec - night	- NYC	- memory about a vacation - buys the book The Plague
-39-	- Claude -Tobias	- Sat 28th Dec - night	- NYC - Chinatown	- Claude wants to buy more weapons - he gets the chance to buy an Uzi	- Claude is a weapon-fanatic - Claude is very aggressive
-40-	- White Mike	- Sat 28th Dec - night	- Mike’s home	- Mike dreams of falling and flying
-41-	- White Mike	- flashback		- memories of his vacation with Alice
-42-	- White Mike	- flashback	- a bar	- Alice thinks Mike doesn’t drinks because he want’s to be sober
-43-	- Chris - Sara - the box-coach	- Sun 29th Dec - morning	- Chris’ house	- Sara comes to talk to Chris about the party and about buying some twelve while Chris has a box-lesson	- Chris is a little bit cautious about the open house party
-44-	- Chris - Claude	- Sun 29th Dec - morning	- Chris’ house	- Claude repairs his Uzi - both of them take a shower	- they are so rich that they have separated bathrooms
-45-	- Molly - White Mike	- Sun 29th Dec - morning	- Mike’s home	- Molly tells Mike about Tobias and the party	- Mike worries about Molly - Mike never cried
-46-	- Andrew - Sven	- Sun 29th Dec - morning	- Carl Schulz Park	- Andrew plays chess with a man called Sven - they go to have a drink
-47-	- White Mike	- flashback	- NYC	- memory about a bum called Captain
-48-	- Andrew - Sven	- Sun 29th Dec - afternoon	- a bar	- conversation about Andrew’s future and Sven’s experiences in Japan	- Sven’s quite strange
-49-	- White Mike	- Sun 29th Dec - afternoon	- NYC	- Mike drops a ounce of weed and has to search it in a construction site
-50-	- Claude	- Sun 29th Dec - afternoon	- Chris’ house	- Claude practises with a sword - he destroys his room	- quite aggressive
-51-	- White Mike - Captain	- Sun 29th Dec - evening	- NYC	- Mike finds Captain screaming and bleeding	- crazy New York
-52-	- Andrew - Sara	- Mon 30th Dec - morning/ noon	- Andrew’s home	- Andrew calls Sara - she invites him to the party	- Andrew wants to seem cool, so he pretends to smoke weed
-53-	- Timmy - Mark Rothko	- Mon 30th Dec - noon	- 86th street	- they steel CD’s	- Mark is quite aggressive - they are both really criminal
-54-	- White Mike - Warren	- Mon 30th Dec - noon	- White Mike’s home	- conversation about school, college and family	- Warren’s a good friend of Mike
-55-	- Sean - cabbie	- Mon 30th Dec - late morning	- a cab	- Sean goes to hospital - cabbie starts a conversation	- Sean seems quite thoughtful
-56-	- White Mike	- Mon 30th Dec - noon	- Coney Island	- Mike watches some kids - he sees people dealing
-57-	- White Mike	- Mon 30th Dec - afternoon	- train to Manhattan	- Mike sets up a deal with Mark and Timmy	- Mike thinks, sometimes he looks like a movie star
-58	- Timmy - Mark Rothko	- Mon 30th Dec - afternoon	- NYC	- phone call from Mike	- what did he say?!
-59-	- White Mike	- flashback	- Central Park	- Mike watches people	- he never wants to be old
-60-	- White Mike	- Mon 30th Dec - afternoon	- NYC/FAO Schwarz	- walks into the toy store and looks for some stuffed animals
-61-	- Timmy - Mark Rothko	- memory	- copy shop	- Mark buys a faked ID
-62-	- Jessica	- Mon 30th Dec - late morning	- Jessica’s home	- she thinks about being shot - makes up a talk show with her teddies	- she thinks about dead -> does she want attention?
-63-	- Timmy - Mark Rothko	- Mon 30th Dec - afternoon	- shop ‘Star Deli’	- Mark wants to buy cigarettes - shop assistant sees that the ID is faked -> troubles
-64-	- White Mike	- flashback	- dermatologists office	- a woman pops his pimples - thinks about jobs	- his mother taught anthropology (was a philosophic?)
-65-	- Jessica - her mother	- Mon 30th Dec - noon	- a bistro	- conversation about Jessica’s grades - her mother wants to send her to a psychologist	- always when rich girls have problems, parents send them to psychologists
-66-	- White Mike - Timmy - Mark Rothko	- Mon 30th Dec - afternoon	- NYC	- drug deal - Timmy gives Mike Andrew’s number
-67-	- White Mike	- flashback	- Central Park	- he watched skaters doing ollies
-68-	- Hunter	- Mon 30th Dec	- police station	- phone call with his father	- Hunter’s scared
-69-	- Hunter’s dad	- Mon 30th Dec - afternoon	- at home	- memory of his time at boarding school –> a kid died in a fire	- awful
-70-	- White Mike	- flashback	- school, ethic class	- Mike’s thoughts about religion	- he isn’t very into it - talks bad about it and hurts others by his meaning
-71-	- White Mike - Andrew	- Mon 30th Dec - afternoon	- amphitheatre in a park	- drug deal with Andrew	- Mike realizes that Andrew never would take drugs
-72-	- White Mike	- flashback	- Times Square	- last year New Years Eve - he’s pissed off about people starving
-73-	- White Mike - his father	- Mon 30th Dec - evening	- at home	- memories about the relationship to his father	- his father hasn’t enough time for him
-74-	- Molly	- Mon 30th Dec - night	- at home	- watches NY at night - tries out outfits
-75-	- White Mike - Hunter	- flashback - last December	- 96th street - NYC	- memory of Hunter on a bad trip	- Mike worries about his friend
-76-	- Andrew	- New Years Eve - morning	- at home - at a barber’s shop	- he gets ready for the party - gets a new haircut and his first shave	- thinks the new haircut looks bad - wants to look good at the party
-77-	- Molly	- New Years Eve - morning	- at home	- she jumps rope and thinks about how she started this
-78-	- Chris	- New Years Eve - morning	- a drug-store	- buys condoms	- Chris is always horny - wants to have sex
-79-	- Chris	- New Years Eve - little bit later	- Chris’ house	- throws all his porns away	- he thinks he’ll get laid that evening
-80-	- White Mike	- flashback	- at home	- watched a family with binoculars	- sees real family life
-81-	- Chris - Claude	- New Years Eve - late morning	- Chris’ house	- short conversation - Claude admires his weapons	- pervert
-82-	- White Mike - Timmy - Mark Rothko	- New Years Eve - noon	- a bookshop - at Mike’s home	- Mike meets Timmy and Mark - they follow him and want to get into his flat - talk about Mike’s parrot’s name	- Mike is very annoyed because of all those kids - Mark and Timmy are so stupid gangstas
-83-	- Hunter - his father	- New Years Eve	- at home	- phone call between Hunter and his dad	- Hunter is very scared and desperate
-84-	- Timmy - Mark Rothko	- New Years Eve - afternoon	- a grocery store	- they steal cracker - they make a lot of mess
-85-	- White Mike - his father	- New Years Eve - afternoon	- at home	- Mike’s dead tells him about Charlie’s dead - they take a walk - the police wants to ask questions	- Mike wonders what his father knows - Mike is desperate
-86-	- Jessica	- New Years Eve - afternoon	- at home	- Jessica looks at herself in the mirror	- she thinks, she’s so strong
-87-	- White Mike	- New Years Eve - late afternoon	- St. John the Divine	- thinks about Charlie’s dead - can’t understand why HE died	- Mike had a very deep relationship with Charlie
-88-	- Jessica	- New Years Eve - evening	- Chris’ house	- Jessica arrives early to meet Lionel for the weed	- lots of pot there
-89-	- White Mike	- New Years Eve - night	- in a cab	- thinks about visiting the church - father cooks dinner
-90-	- Jerry - others	- New Years Eve - night	- Chris’ party	- conversation about Hunter - can’t believe he shot two people
-91-	- Jessica - Lionel	- New Years Eve - night	- Chris’ party	- Jessica hasn’t enough money for the twelve - she wants to sleep twice with Lionel to get it
-92-	- Chris - Sara - Molly - Andrew	- New Years Eve - night	- Chris’ party	- Sara meets Sean - Andrew likes Molly’s look - Molly is looking for Tobias - Mark makes dump comments	- party conversation in the kitchen
-93-	- White Mike	- New Years Eve - night	- on the way to the party	- gets a message from Warren that Hunter is in jail - runs to the party to get out of his apartment
-94-	- White Mike - Chris	- New Years Eve - night	- Chris’ party	- Mike looks for Jessica - Chris wants him to leave because he ruined the party by turning the music off
-95-	- Chris - Molly - Andrew - Timmy - Mark	- New Years Eve - night	- Chris’ party	- conversation about Chris’ and his parties - Timmy and Mark tell, that the ‘dealer’ Mike punched Chris	- Molly is surprised that Mike is a dealer
-96	- White Mike - Chris - Molly - others	- New Years Eve - night	- Chris’ party	- Mike hurries upstairs and opens the bedroom door - Molly calls him but Mike doesn’t react
-97-	- Lionel - White Mike - Claude - Molly - Timmy - Mark Rothko - Tobias - other kids	- New Years Eve - night	- Chris’ party	- Lionel has sex with Jessica - Lionel is angry and pulls Charlie’s gun - Mike knows the gun with the pearl handle - Mike wants to kill Lionel - Lionel shoots around - Claude comes out of his room, the Uzi in his hand - Claude kills Molly and some other kids(Mark, Timmy, Tobias, Lionel) - he destroys also the house - the police arrives and calls him to come out, then shoot him
-98-	- White Mike		- in Paris	- applied to college in Paris - Hunter got free right after they got Lionel	- likes Paris more than NY - there’s a better vibe

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