Do you remember what it was like being 15 years old?

Do you remember what the scope of your interest was? I do, my interests didn t go much further than how to impress a certain girl or how healthy my social life was at the time, but the awareness of something greater than myself was present.DBC Pierre s Vernon Little however,offers the reader an alternative perspective through the eyes of a troubled 15-year-old Texan boy who finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. I, as a reader, ultimately asked myself by the end of the book, did DBC Pierre succeed in putting himself in the shoes of a 15-year-old boy? Reflecting on this question, I came to the conclusion that he indeed does succeed. You may wonder how he managed to do so while dealing with such an obviously multi-layered and multi-dimensional character such as Vernon Little. But that is what I will be talking about today. DBC Pierre outlines to the reader at the beginning of the story three major themes that will lay the groundwork for the plot. These themes are wealth and poverty, good and evil, cause and effect . By extension, they constitute the framework in which the denizens of Martirio seem to work in. As such DBC Pierre gives Vernon the ultimate setting in order to pit him against. Vernon vs the Town of Martirio, should have been the title. As the plot thickens and progresses we realize that Vernon quickly becomes the target of every element of his society. wealth is a farfetched dream for him, the good is masked by the media and cause is not a viable factor for Vernon as he lacks the proper guidance in his upbringing. He is ultimately left with poverty, evil and bad results. At this point, what we have is 15 year old boy who is trying to make his way against the whim of the town s mechanisms. But DBC Pierre s success lies in that he manages to allow Vernon grow out from the mindset of a 15 year old in order to adapt to his environment. His transition is divided into three parts throughout the book, and in each one of these parts, DBC Pierre dishes out more obstacles at Vernon. Initially, we are introduced to a foul-mouthed, angry and apathetic Vernon with little control over his bowel movements. He gives us the impression the mother caused issues of victimhood have permanently affected his personality. In addition to this, Vernon also displays proof that prior to his friend Jesus s mass murder and suicide, Vernon s mentality was that of a normal adolescent, for example joking about the philosopher Emmanuel Kant. This demonstrates that Vernon was not as perceptive and attentive to details as was his friend. A sign that he still was immature. On page 41,Vernon grants the reader an opportunity to understanding his perception of the world, and it is at this point we begin to comprehend that his anger is directed towards society and the people that encompass his town. The reader is able to understand Vernon s struggle up to this point as we see how stunted his development as an adolescent is. Owning part in this is his onedimensional mother that does not develop her character or expand her interests to

suit the needs of her son. A mother that cannot provide for her family and uses her son to take care of her, to help her cope with her needs, drowning Vernon s cries for help or attention when his own mother refuses to believe him over her Lover Lally. This first part helps shape the contour of Vernon s lifestyle, and from what can be deciphered, is that he represents a disgruntled boy with pent up anger lashing out at everyone and everything around him through a very colorful usage of vocabulary. During the second part of Vernon s experience, we are taken on a tour of what really lies beneath the foundations of every entity in Martirio, especially Vernon. The reader discovers his sexual desires and thoughts, and we can see that he is experiencing the signs of a normal adolescent. But as the chapters progress, Vernon becomes more and more frustrated with what goes on around him, a flawed justice system, a psychiatrist attempts to abuse him, his lawyer can barely speak English, and the media want to convict him and crucify him, all in the name of ratings and money. This in the eyes of a 15 year old creates a certain level of disturbance and apathy and can only be explained by Vernon s decision to literally run-away from home , an attitude much adopted by adolescents who flee their unfavorable environments. Vernon does not leave to escape the law or because of his trial, Vernon leaves because he loses hope in Martirio. On page 80, Vernon s anger becomes extremely apparent as he states: My face caves in. This is how I'm being grown up, this is my fucken struggle for learnings and glory. A gumbo of lies, cellulite and fucken "Wuv".' (p80) What we see from this is that Vernon, a 15 year old, is alienated from his society, as he frequently says, he becomes a skate-goat . His sexual experiences also indicate that Vernon is truly the farthest thing from being a conformist to his society. An example of this is his taking care of Taylor and not taking advantage of a situation that would have put him on the amoral side of things. A gentleman lies underneath the sullen exterior, unlike Lally, a moral lacking con artist who deceives and plots in order to advance his career. Hence Vernon is left with memories and yearnings that occupy his thoughts for most of his time. But is this the result a 15 year old put under such circumstances supposed to feel? In the third part of Vernon s adventure, he is caught and brought back to Justice and sentenced to death. At this juncture in the story, Vernon s personality takes a sudden turn, he becomes calmer and accepting of his fate and his errors. He is forced to enter the age of maturity through extraordinary circumstances which leave him yearning to make peace with God thanks to the axe murderer Lassalle, he also accepts Martirio for what it is, and does not fight or resist its influences, rather he begins to understand that he must exert assertiveness and control in order to change what he deems worth changing. He realizes this in Mexico, as he says but it's still me, without any trace of the slime around. And it is in Mexico where he, experiences, even for a little while, what a 15 year old would, freedom from societal pressures, freedom from having to hide his identity through muck-like behavior.

So does DBC Pierre manage to place himself in the shoes of a 15 year old? Yes he does, but not in the shoes of a normal 15 year old, but of a mature teenager, with raging hormones and thoughts of grandeur that are buried beneath the rubble of a decrepit society. Vernon changes in the face of adversity from an impassive to emotionally charged human being, from being a self indulged teenager to a selfaware person.