~Steven's Recurring Dream~
Close your eyes, and think of your worst nightmare. You probably woke up feeling frightened and perhaps a bit sweaty. Did it have an effect on the rest of your day? Think about that nightmare again, then double the amount of fear you woke up with. Now you can begin to think about how Steven felt almost every night when he had ‘The Dream’. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick is about a regular eighth grader named Steven, whose positively normal life was flipped upside down when his five-year-old brother Jeffrey got leukemia. Steven’s recurring nightmare symbolizes both outer and inner conflicts that Steven is facing.
~The Inner Struggle~
Steven suffers from a character versus self type of conflict, as is expressed in his dreams. Steven believes that HE is the cause of his brother Jeffrey’s suffering, where he causes his brother’s death. As you all know, the Dream was about how Steven kept hitting Jeffrey even though he knew it would hurt. On page 176, Steven says, “I’d throw it again and BAM! Again, BAM! Again, BAM! And he’d slowly sink to the ground.” And also on page 36: “Steven, your brother is really sick.” “Did I…? Was it because he…?” These quotes express Steven’s guilt over Jeffrey’s sickness and overall health.
~The Outer Struggle~
As well as blaming himself for his brother’s illness, there is also a character versus nature conflict that is shown in Steven’s dream. Steven recalls, in his dream, bruises forming over Jeffrey’s body, which has a connection to earlier actual events that might have influenced his dream; a snowball fight. (To find out more about how the setting impacts the characters, click here.) On page 174, Steven describes the results of the snowball fight: "His arms were an alarming welter of bruises. I guess the snowballs hitting him had taken a toll." Jeffrey's Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) was the cause of the bruising. The sickness is out of Steven's power to fix, just like his dream.
~The Conclusion~
Steven's dream (or nightmare) is centered around two conflicts. On the one hand, Steven believes that his brother's illness and potential death is his fault. On the other hand, Jeffrey's ALL is what caused all the chaos in the first place, and disoriented Steven's mental state. Nightmares often mimic real-life fears, and Steven's 'Dream' is NO exception.
~The Inner Struggle~
Steven suffers from a character versus self type of conflict, as is expressed in his dreams. Steven believes that HE is the cause of his brother Jeffrey’s suffering, where he causes his brother’s death. As you all know, the Dream was about how Steven kept hitting Jeffrey even though he knew it would hurt. On page 176, Steven says, “I’d throw it again and BAM! Again, BAM! Again, BAM! And he’d slowly sink to the ground.” And also on page 36: “Steven, your brother is really sick.” “Did I…? Was it because he…?” These quotes express Steven’s guilt over Jeffrey’s sickness and overall health.
~The Outer Struggle~
As well as blaming himself for his brother’s illness, there is also a character versus nature conflict that is shown in Steven’s dream. Steven recalls, in his dream, bruises forming over Jeffrey’s body, which has a connection to earlier actual events that might have influenced his dream; a snowball fight. (To find out more about how the setting impacts the characters, click here.) On page 174, Steven describes the results of the snowball fight: "His arms were an alarming welter of bruises. I guess the snowballs hitting him had taken a toll." Jeffrey's Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) was the cause of the bruising. The sickness is out of Steven's power to fix, just like his dream.
~The Conclusion~
Steven's dream (or nightmare) is centered around two conflicts. On the one hand, Steven believes that his brother's illness and potential death is his fault. On the other hand, Jeffrey's ALL is what caused all the chaos in the first place, and disoriented Steven's mental state. Nightmares often mimic real-life fears, and Steven's 'Dream' is NO exception.