The messenger writing portfolio

The messenger is a novel written in 2002 by a man called Markus Zusak, where I have chosen to write an essay through a reader's response lens. The book is based around the life of the main character, Ed Kennedy and his friends Audrey, Ritchie and Marv. Ed was a 19 year old taxi driver, who was looked at as just a normal average person in the eyes of the public, until an incident happened, where Ed and his friends happened to be held up in a bank during a robbery.

Ed defused the situation by holding the robber at gunpoint once the robber had attempted an escape, and once news broke out, he was looked at as some sort of hero to the town, but to him, he was the same old Ed who feels nothing but disappointment and self pity.

Ed Kennedy was a taxi driver who never failed to criticize himself in most situations, whether it be social interactions or just his plain thoughts.

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Ed didn't like the way he looked and obviously wasn't too fond of himself. A quote in the book that I feel highlights the previous facts about Ed is; My full name's Ed Kennedy. I'm nineteen. I'm an underage cabdriver. I'm typical of many of the young men you see in this suburban outpost of the city not a whole lot of prospects or possibility. That aside, I read more books than I should, and I'm decidedly crap at sex and doing my taxes. Nice to meet you.

Like I said before, Ed never failed to criticize himself, and in this quote, as Ed is introducing himself to the us (the readers) he adds in the part where he says he is bad at sex, which is totally unnecessary but he still felt the need to say it which really shows his levels of self esteem.

Near the start of the book, Ed received 5 cards, Ace of Diamonds, Ace of Spades, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Clubs and a Joker. Some cards having an address on it, some having strange messages, and the joker had Ed's address on it. Ed was required to go to all 4 addresses, and in doing this, he would face different challenges with each address, some physically dangerous, some time consuming, and some mentally taxing. A situation I feel were important was Ed's encounter with and old lady called Milla. Milla was an old lady, which I assume suffered from dementia, as she could not remember much of her past.

This was indicated when Milla mistook Ed for her husband, where Ed first played the part out of curiosity as to why he was sent to this address, but overtime the relationship grew into more than just curiosity, Ed showed care and affection towards Milla like it were his own family, something I personally did not expect, as Ed never really opened up in the past. When her hands reached out and poured the tea, it was as if she also poured something into me, while I sat there sweating in my cab. I was like she held a string and pulled on it just sightly to open me up. She got in, put a piece of herself inside me, and left again. This quote shows Ed felt some sort of connection to Milla, as he's saying that she has opened him up, which he hasn't really done before. Later in the book he states how he can relate to her loneliness, which is why I feel he cares for her so much, because he knows how it feels to be alone all the time. I can personally relate to this, not in the loneliness sense, but more in the sense of his feelings towards Milla.

As I was reading through this part of the book, it reminded me of my feelings towards my family and how I care and love them and would make an effort for them, and in this case Ed made an effort to visit Milla often, and make sure she's ok. I think Ed also benefited from this, as he finally had someone who felt like a loving mother to him, as he grew up with a mother who never really showed any affection towards him. I feel it also relates to me, as like Ed i'm not one to open up to many people and leave my protective shell, but I will to those who I trust and care about, which are my close friends and family. In my opinion, family is worth anytime of the day, and they should always be a priority, so making an effort to making sure my family is happy is something quite normal to me, which is exactly what Ed did with Mila, even though she wasn't technically his family.

I can relate to Ed's character, as he is someone who lacks motivation and is considered to be quite lazy, which is like myself and many other kids my age. In some situations I need something to motivate me in order to actually do certain things, which in most cases is usually school work. I have a habit of leaving things to the last minute and I feel this can relate to Ed, not because of procrastination or distraction, but in his case it was more because of fear. The first address that Ed had been to was 45 Edgar Street where Ed was forced to deal with a rapist, who constantly harassed his wife both physically and mentally.

The whole situation scared Ed, which led him to laying off of that situation for a while, purely for the fact that he was too scared to face the potential dangers of the rape case. Ed is a very caring person, he may not open up to many people, but you can tell by his thoughts that doing things for others is something that is very important to him. An example of this is when he met Sophia, the runner. He changed his whole routine to see her (waking up at 5:30am) and made the time to watch her races. This shows he is a caring person, but it also shows that he may care about others more than himself. I can somewhat relate to this, as I always find myself putting other people's problems before my own. I feel this could also relate to the wider society, as people seem to always worry about other people's issues and dramas, without making sure they are fine themselves, nowadays we spend so much time focusing on other people, that we forget to make sure that we are stable and happy.

Throughout the book, Ed really grew as a person through these challenges and situations. We learnt that he isn't just an unenthusiastic 19 year old cab driver who seems to have no love for himself, but he is someone who truly cares for the wellbeing of others. The urge to help others is a trait that has been imbedded within our genes ever since the start of humanity, and Ed is a prime example of this. One thing I noticed is that as Ed began helping more and more people, he began to become more of a confident person, and seemed overall happier with himself, which just shows that helping others give you that specific type of satisfaction that nothing else can really give you, and in helping others, you are helping yourself, by becoming a better person overall.