OneBookOneRiverHill discussion

Which characters change the most throughout the story? Which characters remain static? Do you think other readers feel differently? Do their changes surprise you? Why or why not?

The character that changes most throughout the story in my opinion is Quinn. At first, he remains neutral because he doesn't want to get in the middle of it all. After a while, he starts to realize that what Paul did was wrong, and he wants to protest it and stand up against racism. Guzzo remained static because even though he saw Paul beating Rashad, he stood up for him since Paul was his family, and didn't change his mind at all. He was even willing to fight his best friend to prove it. I don't think other readers feel differently because it is clear that Quinn eventually realized that he needed to make a stand, and that Guzzo wouldn't change because Paul was his family. Their changes don't surprise me because if I was Quinn and I saw someone getting beaten, I would want to protest it too. If I was Guzzo, I would stick up for my family even if what they did was wrong.

Shahmeel wrote: "The character that changes most throughout the story in my opinion is Quinn. At first, he remains neutral because he doesn't want to get in the middle of it all. After a while, he starts to realize..."

I agree with your statement shahmeel. However, what do you think about Rashad or the other black people in the community? Do you think Rashad was more neutral about police before the incident, or do you think he was more like his brother spoony, who never really like how the police were treating black people.

I agree with Shahmeel; I think that Quinn changed the most. He had to struggle with the pressure from his family and Guzzo's family, and changed his entire perspective about police brutality and black rights. I think that Spoony remains static; his stance on teh situation doesn't really change, and he generally always has the same goal in mind; to raise awareness and stop racism against African Americans. Others may have a different opinion on this since it could be argued that as a result of Rashad's incident, he became more proactive. Personally I think he is still the same because he was going to rallies and protests before, and seemed to always have that kind of personality. Carlo also is static, since... he always talks about girls. He does get involved in the situation though, and it reveals his unfaltering loyalty to his friends. I was a bit surprised by how Guzzo changed; he and Quinn seemed to be good friends in the beginning, but by the end Quin got beaten by him, and Guzzo started thinking that the whole world was against him, when he wasn't the victim. I wasn't surprised by Quinn's changes; he seemed to be spurred on by his dad (good role models!) and the events around him, to change his perspective and speak up about the situation.

Shahmeel wrote: "The character that changes most throughout the story in my opinion is Quinn. At first, he remains neutral because he doesn't want to get in the middle of it all. After a while, he starts to realize..."
I agree with Shahmeel. Quinn changed the most. In the beginning, Quinn tried to stay neutral because he was caught in the middle. Paul was almost like a father figure to Quinn, but also saw how brutal Paul was at the store and knew what Paul was doing was wrong. He knew could not betray Paul, so Quinn tried to stay out of it. However as the novel progressed, Quinn became more vocal about what he truly thought and fought against racism and what he truly believed in. Guzzo remained static throughout this novel. Guzzo always believed Paul made the right decision and that he was the innocent man. Even if Guzzo saw the fault in Paul's decision, he would still defend Paul because he is family. As the novel progressed, Guzzo still strongly believed Paul was being a good cop and was willing to fight people who disagreed with Paul's decision. I believe readers will feel the same because there is an obvious change in Quinn's perspective as the novel progresses. Quinn goes from being on Paul's side to neutral, to protesting for Rashad, which is an obvious change. Quinn's change did not surprise me because Quinn saw the brutality and knew he needed to take a stand. Many other people including myself would do. I am not surprised Guzzo stayed on Paul's side because he is family and family sticks by each other's side.

The character that changed the most throughout the story was Quinn. In the beginning of the story, he was on Paul's side and felt he was just doing his job. As time progressed, Quinn began to side more with Rashad. It got to the point that Quinn started to feel uncomfortable around Paul. The character that remained the most static throughout this book was Quinn's good friend Guzzo. As Paul's brother, Guzzo was always on Paul's side. He always felt as if it was only his family supporting Paul and no one else. By the end of the book, Quinn and Guzzo's friendship was ruined. I think that other readers feel the same about Quinn and Guzzo. I was not surprised by either changes of Quinn and Guzzo. Quinn realized the right thing towards the end of the book and for Guzzo, Paul is family.

Rachel wrote: "The character that changed the most throughout the story was Quinn. In the beginning of the story, he was on Paul's side and felt he was just doing his job. As time progressed, Quinn began to side ..."

I agree with you Rachel. I felt exactly the same way about the characters you chose. In the middle of the book, the reader could tell that Quinn would realize the right side and stop being good friends with Guzzo. I think Quinn always knew the right thing to do but he did not know how Guzzo would feel about but at the end Quinn realized that it did not matter what Guzzo thought because Quinn would be doing the right thing. Guzzo stayed static because he knew he had to protect his family and so he did not have an opportunity to think about what was right and wrong. Guzzo knew that even if his brother was wrong he would have to stand with him because he is family. I think family has a big issue on racism because many people do not want to go against their family.

Tudhjot wrote: "Rachel wrote: "The character that changed the most throughout the story was Quinn. In the beginning of the story, he was on Paul's side and felt he was just doing his job. As time progressed, Quinn..."

I also agree with you, Rachel. Quinn was certainly the character that changed drastically in the story. At first, he was more of a bystander just believing what he always has or been told. However, as the novel progresses on, and he witnesses a crime, he begins to question who was the actual criminal? At a point in the novel, Quinn forgets about family and he knows the right thing to do is to stand with the side that is right morally. I think Guzzo standing on Paul's side was because he felt the obligation of family more strongly than Quinn had. He stood by Paul till the end, even if he had chosen the side that wasn't the best choice. The changes in these two characters were not surprising. They both started on similar paths bu had different mindsets, and different goals to begin with.