Ava Mascuch
ELA
September 17, 2014
Over the summer one of the books I read was called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It was about four very close friends separating for the first time over the summer. At the end of the school year they all tried on a pair of pants that fit them all even though they were different body types and sizes. They decided the pants were magical and that they would share the pants during the summer. The story is from the point of view of four characters, Tibby, Carmen, Bridget and Lena. I noticed that Tibby developed throughout the book. In the beginning of the book Tibby would meet people she didn't know and judge them by the way they looked or by what they were doing. When Tibby started to become friends with a young girl named Bailey, she started to see people in a different light.
At the outset of the book, Tibby was not open to becoming friends with new people. Since Tibby is not traveling, she decides to make a documentary over the summer. Bailey thinks that it is a good idea to interview a teenager named Brian that is very good at playing arcade games at 7-11. Tibby states "he sounds appropriately lame". This shows that even before Tibby met Brian she determines that he is "lame" without even getting to know him. Another example is that when Tibby first met Bailey she thought that Bailey was a "random annoying 12 year old" but they end up being the closest of friends.
After Tibby was friends with Bailey and Brian for awhile she started to realize that people were not exactly how they seemed. For example, in the beginning Tibby did not think much of Brian, but then she got to know Brian and learned he was a really smart, nice person. He brought Bailey a game for her when she was sick and visited her in the hospital. He helped Tibby learn how to play dragon master and he had the patience and enthusiasm of a real teacher. He beamed with pride when Tibby reached level 7. After Tibby became friends with Bailey she realized that Bailey was not annoying at all, Tibby ended up really caring about Bailey. For example, when Tibby figured out that Bailey was really sick and in the hospital because of her leukemia she got really upset, " 'aren't there any more treatments they can try? Aren't there?'. Suddenly Tibby's chest hurt. Her breathing felt wrong. Her heart seemed to be leaping around without any particular rhythm. Her heart was going to explode". These were feelings Tibby had never experienced before. This shows that Tibby really cares about Bailey and she would be very distraught if she died.
Ultimately I think what caused Tibby to change was Bailey. Bailey showed her a different way of looking at people and things. At the end of the story, Tibby was more open so she was able to get to know and appreciate people. Tibby's character development is an important life lesson for the reader to understand.
