Pulver 1

Allison Pulver

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 8

15 Nov. 2019

Is It Okay Because It’s A Tradition?

Fullbrook, a school where rape, bullying, and objectifying girls are traditions. This is

something that happens often in life, yet barely anything is ever done about it. In the novel

Tradition, the author Brendan Kiely explores that idea, creating relatable characters who teach

the lesson that some traditions, no matter how old, need to change.

To begin, one of the most important parts about a book is the characters in it. They help

develop the plotline and create conflicts that leave the reader hanging on the edge of their seat. In

the novel Tradition, there are two main characters, Jules and James. The author makes the

characters relatable. Because of this, the story seems more realistic. In addition, the characters

undergo obstacles that are common to experience in the real world. For example, James says,

“We were only a few weeks into the school year and I was already struggling significantly.”

(Kiely, Pg. 79). This is something that everyone, who has gone to school, can relate to because

starting a new class can be difficult for people. This leaves the reader relating to the character

James and understanding the struggle he’s going through. As the reader, he or she can relate to

the frustration and worry of not understanding anything in a class. This ultimately leaves the

book with a sense of believability. Another example of this is when Jules and the other girls that

go to Fullbrook get rated by the boys on a scale of one to ten based on their looks and their
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bodies (Kiely, Pg. 70-74). For girls and women, being rated based on her beauty and body is

something that commonly happens. This detail allows the reader to relate to Jules, understanding

the frustration and embarrassment Jules and her classmates were feeling. This is another example

which makes the story more believable because of how common these events are in everyday

life.

Another part that is important is the theme of a book. It’s the central focus of the book

and it connects all parts of a book, such as plot, characters, conflict, and setting. In the novel

Tradition, the theme that reoccurs throughout the book is that some traditions, no matter how

old, need to change. This theme allows the characters to develop new perspectives and show the

reader a new perspective on the world too. In the book, the theme is shown through the

characters and their actions. The characters Jules, James, Javi, and Aileen go to a school that has

awful experiences and events going on that are “okay” because they are traditions at the school.

The four friends take it upon themselves to change as many awful traditions as they can at the

school. They change traditions such as how girls are objectified and how rape is brushed off as

unimportant. For example, a common tradition in the school is to not acknowledge women's

health. In the book, after students and teachers got uncomfortable with Jules putting a tampon on

her desk, Jules, James, and Aileen put tampons on their desks every day, breaking that taboo,

(Kiely, Pg. 84). This shattering of taboos surrounding women's health relates to the theme that

some traditions, no matter how old, need to change because the friends change the tradition of

not acknowledging women's health that has been going on for years. This was the first tradition

that the friends changed together, which led them on a spree of changing bad traditions. Another

example of the characters changing the traditions is when James and Javi, after seeing the years
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of built-up graffiti on lockers objectifying the girls at the schools, decide to scratch all of it off,

(Kiely, Pg. 295). Even though that tradition had been going on for years, James and Javi saw that

it wasn’t right and decided to fix it. Even after James faced backlash from the people who

created the graffiti, he continued to remedy what he saw as wrong. By doing this, they stopped

another ongoing tradition to objectify girls in the locker rooms.

Overall, in the novel Tradition, the author Brendan Kiely explores a theme and creates

relatable characters who teach the lesson that some traditions, no matter how old, need to change.

By telling a story about a high school filled with bullying, objectifying girls, and rape, one can

see the plot and characters develop to support the theme. These writing tools ultimately make the

book more realistic for the reader and allow the reader to feel connected to the book in a way

because of how relatable the characters are and how true the theme of the book is.
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Work Cited

Kiely, Brandon. Tradition. New York. MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS, 2018.

Print.