Chapter Eight

In the eighth chapter we can observe an extreme change of mind. Ugly Girl, once a loner and independent girl, now wants to help people. She feels with Matt and helps him because of her conscience.

In the beginning she didn’t want to have any friends. Her whole life consisted of sports. She was a warrior-woman. Her class-mates talked about her behind her back, but she “gave a damn”. It was unimportant for her. Everyone was unimportant. “Ugly Girl stands alone. (p. 22, l. 14)” She insulted everyone she knew, for example her old grandmother (p. 10, ll. 15-25).

Now Ugly Girl shows an absolutely different personality. It seems to be that her conscience has been activated. She really stands up for Matt. She fights for his rights, because there aren’t any evidences for his guilt. The principal arrested him only on suspicion. She’s the only one who’s not too afraid to defend him while he’s helpless.

When she talks to Mr. Parrish he immediately believes her (p. 71, ll. 18-19), there you can see that it wasn’t too hard to stand up for Matt. There only had to be someone who trusts himself to manage that. Neither his friends Russ, Skeet … nor anyone else was courageous enough to say the truth.

Also when the principal, after hearing the true story, said: “the investigation will have to be continued”, she negates that and emphatically says that she wants the case to be closed. She threatens Mr. Parrish with a lawsuit, because he has suspended Matt without a reasonable cause and at the same time he’s defamed his comic character.

As I see it, Ugly Girl behaves very bravely, because she’s been the only one who was courageous enough to announce his knowledge.