About a Boy by Nick Hornby: Two Essays

Purpose: In the book About a boy, Nick Hornby talks about Will Freeman, Marcus, and Fiona who are the main characters of the story. Will is a self-indulgent and self-centered man who wants a superficial relationship with single mothers thus creating a non-existing boy Ned in order to get into their single moms club, SPAT. Marcus is the son of Fiona who he meets in a meeting at the club. They soon develop a strong relationship. Fiona is Marcuss mother who is suffering from depression. On this particular plot, the book is focused on Wills need to talk to Fiona and apologize.

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I reviewed and wrote this speech in a way that reflected my viewpoints in a clever and well-informed manner.

I introduced and put the speech in the book in the context of chapter 32 when Will apologizes to Fiona for everything he has done putting the blame on himself for all the conflicts emerging between her and Marcus, her son. The speech portrays Will as the only cause of the conflicts which is not the case.

By writing this article I aim to show what the speech tries to make Will the only cause of the conflicts in this book. 'I'm the one who should apologize,' (Hornby 32) says will. It portrays Fiona as a depressed woman who is not in her right mind to care thus cannot be judged. These are the two main points that the speech is concerned on so that all the blame can be shifted to Wills side and not Fiona.

Word count: 255

An Apology for the Liesa

About a boy by Nick Hornby

Will felt the need to talk to Fiona after Marcus reported that she had started crying again. The crying was as a result of the depression she was suffering from. Marcus, her son was worried and wanted him to help since he was his only friend. After talking to Rachel, the single mom he had come to love, they arranged to meet the three of them. Meanwhile, Marcus was in Cambridge visiting his father. However, Rachel intentionally fails to show up and the end up meeting with Fiona alone.

According to the speech, Will wanted to apologize for the lies he has created with Marcus, Suzie, and every other person in the SPAT group which they all belonged to. He wanted to make Fiona feel better and probably reduce the risk and likelihood of Fiona trying to commit suicide again. When Fiona started crying during their conversation, will as himself a self-centered man wanted to ignore her but he knew he had to care by trying to help. However, Will says to Fiona 'I'm the one who should apologize (Hornby 32). Will wanted to make things better but he couldnt. Fiona was an unhappy woman who was always crying.

Additionally, Will thinks he had caused a disruption in the normal lives of Marcus and his mother. He agreed to be friends with Marcus and he had put himself in a situation he never wanted. Furthermore, he never wanted kids and he found Fiona and his kid to be weird. If only he had stayed away, he would not have to apologize to Fiona. He was also the one that lied about having a son by the name Ned during the SPAT meeting but Marcus had found out his lie making him make a deal with him which marks the start of their friendship.

However, the speech paints Fiona as a depressed woman who has no responsibility whatsoever of taking care of her only son. She has a lot of problems that she cannot take care of herself. The Earlier attempt to commit suicide makes her a mother who cannot even help herself. Fiona herself says I know there's nothing you can do. I'm depressed. It's an illness (Hornby 32). The statement shows that Fiona is incapable of seeing the wrongs she has committed with Marcus. Marcus has turned out to be a boy who is unfamiliar with the social norms in areas like speech, music, clothing and even social interaction that results in Marcus being bullied at School. According to her, she raises Marcus to be himself. Therefore, she is incapable of raising his own son.

Although Will is a self-indulgent man, he takes his time to apologize and makes thing better for his friend Marcus whom he has grown to like. Also, his views about single mothers and their children had changed after falling in love with Rachel for the first time. On the other hand, Fiona refuses to take her own part of the blame.

In conclusion, by taking the blame and apologizing, Will makes Fiona open up about her problems. Through the talk, he learns a lot of things about her and learned that the cause of her happiness was an awful dark secret. It was from this moment that things start working out for him, Marcus and everyone else in the story. He becomes caring and Fiona starts feeling better about herself.

Word count: 566

Reference

Hornby, Nick. About a Boy. New York, NY: Riverhead Books, 1998. Internet resource. Read more