The book that I have recently read is called “Search for Safety” by John Langan. I have also read many other books from the same author and in a way, they are al very similar. They all have a social conflict meaning that there is always someone or a group of people that are causing the conflict to the main character. Or a better way to say it is “Character vs. Character” Well any ways. The book “Search for Safety” happens to be character vs. society. The main “main” character is Ben McKee.
Ben McKee is treated like shit by his stepfather who hates him. But of course, Ben's mom is blinded by love. Larry is considered to be and aggressive and jealous man. And yes, Ben' mom is still in love with him. Ben cant really do much because he knows that he will be beaten. In the beginning of the book already Ben is being beaten by Larry for not ordering simple orders such as stay in room. "When I want you upstairs, you stay upstairs!" he yelled." But I-"Whap! Larry cuffed me hard in the jaw with the back of his hand, snapping my head back and splitting my lip...This constantly happens through out the book and there’s nothing he can do since he has no protection from his mom, there’s nothing he can do. You know if i was Ben's situation would of probbaly didnt do nothing. Ben's takes a hit for not following that simple rule. Just imagine what Larry would do to ben If he calls the police on him. Ithink that his life would be in great jepoardy. But is it worth it? Hummmm maybe not. That risking your life against a psychopath.
The only safe place that Ben has is school. In school, he has new friends and has a great time. But most of the time, he needs to hide his bruises that Larry leaves him after beating him. This here is similar to the same situation with David and his mom in the book A Child Called It. I just think is what Ben Mackee will do.
The other book that i read from the same author is Brothers in Arms. Both of these books share many similarities. They both have the same plot, violence in the conflict and there’s always the main character has a hard time staying safe everyday
I think that the purpose of writing this book is to show the way some people are living in the same situation just like Ben. And yea, there are many families all over the world where the father especially stepfathers are very abusive in many violent ways. And for those who have never experienced this situation in their live, this book gives a very good ideal of how it is. Also, this book has a lot of imagery through very good details. That the thing about this author, he gives a ton of sensory details.
As the book was ending, I noticed drastic changes in the characters like Ben. Thought out the book, Ben was kid who tried all he can do stay safe in his own house. Ben's mom married a guy who hates Ben, Due to this, Ben was miserable because he didn't get food very often and was always beat by his stepfather. I don’t blame him, His stepdad was to strong.
I was really frustrated because of actions of the main characters. First of all, Ben was to sacred to call the police and send who is his step dad because of the beatings he was receiving. I mean why would you hide that like a deep secret. I think that is an ignorant act. Ben’s mom is so STUPID. First of all she's blinded with love. She loves Larry. But is having your husband beating your one and only child considered to be love? That’s stupid. Another thing is that she even takes the beatings from Larry for only looking at a guy. “Larry, you got things all wrong. i was just talking to him. That’s all"..."next time you don’t even look at him. You hear me"...WHAP!...Stop it Larry...WHAP!”This here shows lack of responsibility from both parents. But of course. Ben's mom is deeply in love with him and won’t leave him. Aoutomatically, this shows that Larry is very jelouse. As you can see, Ben's mom only saw a guy and Larry got reallt mad. And remember, what will Larry do next if she would do something like kiss the guy. He will probably kill her. But then again is it worth it? is this real love? NO
Ben is really scared of Larry because of what he has been doing. There’s a part where Larry says that he is willing to kill Ben if he ever calls the police. Due to this, Ben does not try to call the police. As time passes, Ben’s teachers and friends are noticing the burses in his body but Ben is holding it back and acts like he has nothing. At one point it was now to stand up and burst out the truth. And so he did. But, it was a mistake that he did. Due to this, Larry was going to kill Ben big time. But then the police caught him and everyone were now happy.
These types of situations happen throughout the world. This is why I wanted to read this book. After reading this book, it gave me a good perspective of domestic violence. After finishing this book the first thing that popped is this situation. I mean you never know, the people that you know may be going through the same thing. This is why the John Langan wrote this book. To give the audience a good perspective of what domestic violence is.
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