Kailey Holbrook

Dr Malashewski

IB English

12 November 2023

Two-Shoes and the Bat

Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield grew up faster than any child should have to. Her

transition to maturity began when she left her teddy bear, Two-Shoes, back at the horrible island

her mother took her and her sister to. The stuffed animal was a childish comfort that she carried

around everywhere, but after the horrific events on the island and the news of her mother’s

cancer, she abandoned the toy.

In the next Opal Chapter the reader is introduced to her as a grandmother and is later

shown what happened after her mother’s death. It is clear that her struggles did not stop on the

island and had not stopped even at her progressing age. In her first chapter the reader saw her

progress from soft to hard, then in her second chapter from mature to dangerous. She traded her

toy, a comforting a friend, for a bat, a true weapon. The change in items proves exactly how Opal

had grown through the year. Two-Shoes comforted her in hiding, she could sit to the side behind

her mother and sister and let the toy keep her safe mentally, and alone. The bat comforted her in

action, she had no one to hide behind, in fact, her sister was someone she needed to help protect.

From a mature child to a protective sister, she grew with the items around her.

PASSAGE: “[She] had taken to holding the thing like she’d once held Two Shoes for

comfort. But where Two Shoes was all talk and no actions, the bat… was all action.” (Orange

166)
 The Power of Perspective

What is the impact of the changes in tense and type of speaker per chapter? The answer:

Perspective.

The tense and type of speaker for each chapter is very well crafted, all to the point where

the reader is still able to connect with the character and situation without feeling an absence of

flow in the book. However, the choice to change these features per chapter and per character are

not without reason. They are as purposeful as anything else in the book.

Take Octavio’s chapter for example, what purpose does having his story told in 1st

person past tense serve? It creates a new perspective on his character. The reader had seen and

heard of Octavio before, and now, they were able to see what his life was from his point of view.

The 1st person allowed for an immediate connection, it was his turn to tell his own story. The

past tense gave way for a true story’s feel, as it allowed the character to have a fully developed

history without adding any forthcoming events. Then take Opal’s chapter, which is written in 3rd

person with both past and present tense. Her last chapter was in 1st person past tense as she told

her own story as if it was a memory. Her new chapter widens the perspective, and allows for an

immediate update on her new moments along with an outer view of her life after the island.

The tense and type of speaker allows the reader to view the character in a new

perspective.

PASSAGE: Page 159, Page 171

Works Cited

Orange, T. (2019). There There. Vintage.