Eleanor and Park Ending

                All in all, I thought that Eleanor and Park was a good book, though the ending is really quite sad. I understand why Eleanor needed to leave, to get away from Richie and this entire family that just seems to have fallen asleep to how messed up their situation is.

                It was talked about in class, what it would take for Eleanor’s mom to leave Richie, and I am of the opinion that unless something absolutely horrible happened, it just was not very likely to happen. She is too stuck- the known devil is, in her mind, better than starting over again and taking the risks involved in starting completely new again. She’s too tired- too defeated- and too willing to look the other way at things unacceptable because of it- because she just doesn’t have it in her to really face and fight it.

                “Her mom actually kissed Eleanor good-bye at the door and told her to have fun, and to call the neighbors if things got weird with her dad. Right, Eleanor thought, I'll be sure to call you if Dad's fiancée calls me a bitch and then makes me use a bathroom without a door. Oh, wait…” (19.5)

                Her mom is in some sort of denial that is just not going to be helpful to Eleanor. As I said, the only way she probably would even really consider leaving Richie is probably if he did something absolutely horrible to one of her children- and Eleanor shouldn’t have to sit around and wait for that to happen. So she leaves on her own. It is sad that leaving is what is necessary, but I think for Eleanor’s sake it is. 

                 It is sad, Park and Eleanor had gotten really close- but even with that… I think at the end of it all it was probably best for Eleanor to leave. Park, and maybe this is oversimplifying things, but I think Park almost became a crutch for her. He was the one person who kept her going- she even says multiple times things like ‘she couldn’t live without him’ and ‘he was her whole world’ and things like that. It probably just is not healthy for her to be that dependent on one person, and it is almost unfair to Park- that is a lot of responsibility to put on one person’s shoulders. I think that away from Park, Eleanor can sort of develop on her own. 

                Anyways, it is a sad ending, but at the same time it isn’t because in some ways- it’s a new beginning for both of them- but especially Eleanor-and in my opinion she really needs one.