Friday 7 November 2008

"ABOUT A BOY" FORUM - CHARACTERS




This activity is for my English students who have read "ABOUT A BOY" by Nick Hornby.
Read the following questions and post your ideas and opinions. There are three different forums, so feel free to check them all.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WILL FREEMAN? DO YOU KNOW ANYONE LIKE HIM?

WHAT ABOUT FIONA? IS SHE A GOOD MOTHER? DO YOU THINK SHE IS HAPPY?


WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ABOUT MARCUS? IS HE WEIRD? WHAT MAKES A WEIRD BOY? WHY DO STUDENTS BULLY DIFFERENT AND WEAK CLASSMATES?

15 comments:

Daniel Fernández Muriana said...

Will Freeman is a shallow and selfish person because he only thinks in himself. He doesn't want to work, so he's very lazy. He's a bit rude too. Fortunately, I don't know anyone like him. I would think he or she is cool at first but I wouldn't be able to stand him or her.
Fiona is weird and very sad. She needs a man and friends. She's a good mother in somethings for exmple about look after to Marcus but she doesn't worry about Marcus's problems.
Marcus is a weird boy because he wear strange clothes, he's got a weird haircut and his personality has strange things for example to sing in class. Marcus is funny, sincere and friendly with people too. In my opinion, students can bully someone because is weird, ins't cool and is the only who wear a kind of weird clothes for example.

Montse Có said...

I don't know anyone like Will, but I think it would be boring stay all the live without doing obligations.
Fiona needs a change, goes living to another place and has a new husband or boyfriend. She tries to be a good mother, but it results difficult to her.
Marcus is very weird, but it's for the influence of his mother. He hasn't to be bullied only for his way of live or style.

abg3 said...

CRISTINA CORDOBA WROTE:
I think that book About a boy is a good history about the growing up for all ages. The protagonist, Will, is the personage that more grow up in history because he first was a shallow boy with his relationships and he was a person without responsabilities. Finally, Will realizes that his life is an awful life because he hasn't nothing important and he realizes that he in his life need to love and to be a good person. The second protagonist, Marcus, is a child with a school problems and family problems, last is a very important and the history it doesn't say directly in book. First, Marcus did everything like the mother, and his look was a very pathetic and in the school the bullies laughed his. Finally he grow up in a lot of things but the most important is that he now is able to decide how he want to be. The third protagonist, Fiona is Marcus' mother and she is a strange person. First she controled Marcus' life and she was very possessive. She once intented kill herself, this was very selfish for his part. I think that finally she was more sympathetic with Marcus and she learned to appreciate his life.

Javi said...

Will is a shallow and a lazy person. I think if I had his money, I wouldn't work, but I would do something like do a course of something or travel.

About Fiona and Marcus, I think that their problems have been caused by the separation of the family. I think the children bully Marcus to be a person who don't dress smart. This problem exist because his mother don't allow him to dress like he want.

Núria Martín said...

Will is a selfish person who doesn't involve with anybody and who doesn't have any responsibility. I don't know anyone as him. It is true there are persons who don't think of finding a jobw and other that don't have serious relations but always they have any reason to live, they do not feel empty.
Fiona is weird and depressive. Sheneeds to know new people, to inspire love and to begin friendship.
I don't think she is a good mother because this one so busy with her problems that she doesn't realize that her son also has them. Markus is an unusual child, he have a strange haircut and uncool clothes. He also likes old music.
I believe that the bulling is caused by the intolerance of the society. In general human beings it is difficult to us to agree persons different from we, we are afraid to the unknown things.

bjhbcdnm said...

I think Will is a good person, a bit lazy, but a good person, he don't have problems because he have they lave resolved in economy ways, I don't know if there are persons like he, but if exists I would like meet he!
Fiona have a lot of problems, and its normal what she do, because when she pretends to kill herself she don't think about another one, she think in herself and if she's not happy why continue with live? I think she think like this, she pretends to be a good mother and she pretends so hard but she's very inside in her problems and cannot see the problems of his son.
I like weird boys! And Marcus is gr8! They have a " dont know what " what make that people different, I prefer weird than normal or " everybody are the same but with another name " people.



Júlia Fernandez

Antonio Garcia Amela said...

I'd never met anyone like Will Freeman and I don't want to meet someone like him.
I think fiona is a bad mother maybe some of the worst mothers is sellfish and she don't think in Marcus, I don't mind if she's happy or not she mustn't try to kill herself.
Marcus is not weird, he has another habits and the other students are scared of his habits they bully him may be bcause they are afraid about the marcu's habits can like them too

Idoya Aventín said...

In my opinion Will is shallow and selfish person, but in the end of the book he changes. I don't know anyone like him.
Fiona is a bad mother, she’s drug addict and she want that her soon, Marcus be like she. She’s a very unhappy woman, she loves Marcus a lot, but she doesn’t show.
Marcus is a unusual twelve-year-old boy. He suffer serious problems at school, and in this personal live. He always says that he only has his mother, and this is few. Yes, Marcus is weird because his mother has done so weird. He sings weird songs for a twelve-year-old boy. And he’s vegetarian, like his mother.
I think the teenagers can be very bad persons. When somebody isn’t like them, they bully them.

Silvia said...

Will Freeman is a selfish and a shallow person, he can't see the feelings of the people that he really love, at the final of the book he realize of this.
Fiona is a little bit weird because she tries to commit suicide when she has a son who loves she very much, but she is really a good mother but she is too much depressed and she can't see this.
Marcus is a weird boy because he listen music of the 60's and wear strange clothes, but when Will shows the modern clothes he is a normal child.
I think the reason the childs bullied to the weird childs is because they are different, they point out of the other childs.

soraya andrés said...

I don't know anyone like Will because he has a special life.Will Freeman is a contented,selfished, willingly unemployed Londoner. He keeps himself occupied by shopping, playing snooker, smoking and drinking scotch. The normal people must work during the day but he needn't work because he has a lot of money.
Fiona is an eccentric and depressed vegetarian who intented commit a suicide. She have a son, Marcus. He is a very strange boy who suffer bulling at school

montenegro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
montenegro said...

Probably, Will Freeman is the weirdest person I may know.
Actually, I think I know someone who looks like him...maybe. A person who doesn’t want to do anything and who hates babies. Oh, yes. It’s a fact that annoys me. I can't stand people like that.
Fiona is a great problem to his son. She has some emotional problems related with other relationships which she hasn’t been able to forget it. His poor son already doesn’t know how react, how talk to her. He is taking his normal way of life so fine! I think children go crazy in real cases!
Marcus is the character I enjoyed most! He’s so spontaneous! He doesn’t think what he is going to say. He just says it. He’s a funny boy. Unfortunately, he is misunderstood at school and nobody likes him.

Jenni Sànchez said...

My favourite character in this book is Markus because is a weird person and I'm really interested in odd people. Also Will Freeman is a weird person, in relationships topic. I think that Fiona is a bad mother. This is the explanation that Marcus is a weird person. Also I like the girlfriend of Marcus because I like her style, but I think, in my opinion, that the other characters aren't essential.

Ariadna Ortega Belmonte said...

Will es un hombre que tiene miedo a las relaciones con chicas, y el es shallow and selfish, pero en el fondo is kind y se preocupa por Marcus cuando unos compañeros de clase le hacen bulling.

Marcus es mi personaje favorito, porque a pesar de que le hacen bulling el sigue para adelante, el es divertido i amable.

Fiona, es la madre de Marcus, ella es strange.

La novia de Marcus tambien es strange, y hace que Marcus se meta en problemas, porque ella es una chica conflictiva.

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