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Hello everyone!
This past weekend, my sons and I carved a pumpkin into a Jack-o'-lantern for Halloween.
It's become one of our favorite family traditions. We choose a face, scoop out the seeds, and try to make our pumpkin look as scary as possible.
Of course, the boys have their own ideas about what makes a good Jack-o'-lantern, so there's always a little discussion about the design!
As I watched them working together, I found myself thinking about how much they're growing and how they're beginning to develop their own ideas about the world.
As a parent, it's interesting to watch children become more independent. They start making their own decisions, questioning things, and discovering what matters to them.
That reminded me of a character from one of my favorite novels.
His name is Homer Wells, and he's the main character in The Cider House Rules by John Irving.
A character who stayed with me
I read The Cider House Rules years ago, but Homer Wells is a character I've never forgotten.
The story follows Homer, an orphan who grows up in St. Cloud's Orphanage in Maine, where he's raised under the care of Dr. Wilbur Larch.
Dr. Larch teaches Homer about medicine and hopes that he'll eventually follow in his footsteps.
But Homer has his own ideas about life.
As he grows older, he begins to question the expectations placed on him. He wants to experience the world outside the orphanage and discover what kind of person he wants to become.
What makes Homer so interesting to me isn't that he's especially brave, successful, or confident.
It's that he's thoughtful, kind, and often uncertain.
And I think that makes him very human and utterly relatable.
Learning to think for yourself
One of the central ideas in the book is the difference between following rules and doing what you believe is right.
Homer faces difficult choices, and the answers aren't always clear.
He respects the people who raised him, but he doesn't automatically agree with everything they believe.
He has to learn from his own experiences and gradually develop his own understanding of right and wrong.
That's something I've thought about many times since reading the book.
Life doesn't always give us simple choices.
Sometimes two people can look at the same situation and reach completely different conclusions.
Sometimes the rules tell us one thing, but our experiences make us question whether those rules are always fair.
I appreciate that Homer doesn't have all the answers. He has to grow into them.
Why I admire Homer Wells
I think what I admire most about Homer is his compassion.
He's someone who tries to understand other people, even when their lives and decisions are very different from his own.
He makes mistakes. He changes his mind. He sometimes struggles to understand what he should do.
But he keeps learning.
As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate characters like Homer more and more.
When I was younger, I probably admired characters who were strong, confident, or always knew what to do.
Now, I find myself drawn to characters who are willing to question themselves.
There's a quiet kind of strength in admitting that you don't know everything.
What Homer taught me about teaching
I also see a connection between Homer's story and my work as a teacher.
Every student comes into a lesson with different experiences, ideas, and goals.
My job isn't to give students answers.
It's to help them develop the confidence to think, ask questions, express their opinions, and make their own choices.
Sometimes students worry about giving the wrong answer.
But I think one of the most valuable parts of learning is discovering that it's okay to be uncertain.
You can ask questions.
You can change your opinion.
You can make mistakes.
And you can learn something important from all of those experiences.
That's true in an English lesson, and it's true in life.
The power of a good character
One thing I love about reading is that a fictional character can stay with us for years.
We may forget parts of the plot or the names of smaller characters, but we remember how someone made us feel or what they helped us understand.
That's what Homer Wells did for me.
He reminded me that growing up isn't just about becoming independent. It's also about learning to understand other people, taking responsibility for our decisions, and finding our own way through difficult situations.
And perhaps that's something I'm thinking about more these days as I watch my own sons grow up.
I hope they'll become confident enough to think for themselves, but also kind enough to listen to others.
My question for you
Is there a character from a book that you'll never forget?
Maybe it's someone you admired.
Maybe it's someone who made you laugh.
Maybe it's someone whose struggles reminded you of your own life.
Or maybe it's a character who made you see the world a little differently.
If you're studying English, talking about a favorite character is also a wonderful way to practice expressing your opinions.
You don't need to explain the entire story. Just think about what makes that character special to you.
For me, Homer Wells is unforgettable because he reminds me that we don't have to know all the answers to become thoughtful, caring people.
Sometimes the most important thing is to keep questioning, listening, and learning.
Thanks for reading!
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