Titus Analyzed

The growth of Titus’s character is inspiring. It is proof that even the dullest minds can develop and see the bigger picture. He started off as the typical teenager with only parties and hook-ups on his mind. As he gets to know Violet, the catalyst for his change, he starts to realize that there is more to think about in life. I get this sense that M.T. Anderson wanted us to dislike Titus at first, just to make us feel bad about how technology can affect us. To make us distasteful towards how ignorant our minds become when technology is so powerful that results in not being able to come up with the right words to describe something we like. How we would become less empathetic if most of our human interactions took place in a virtual setting.

Titus is neither a hero nor a villain, he is merely an example. I don’t blame him for not being more aware of the things Violet was aware of. He grew up with parents who award him for being dumb just so he can feel better about himself.

““We’ve decided you need a little cheering up,” said my mother.

I started to feel a little better. I could feel their feeds shifting toward a common point, some kind of banner they were pulling up.

“We’ve decided to get you your own upcar,” said my mother.” (Anderson 118)

With this kind of mentality that Titus grew up with it is very easy to think you can do no wrong. As he progresses through the novel he starts to question the world he lives in and even though he does not like what Violet is saying he still thinks about it. In this conversation that Violet and Titus were having, Violet is explaining to Titus that the world they live in is not a democracy and even though Titus doesn’t care he was still thinking about it.

“Because if it was a democracy, everybody would have to decide about everything,

I thought about that. We could have everybody vote. From the feeds. Instantaneous. Then it would be a democracy.

Except, she said, only about seventy-three percent of Americans have feeds.

Oh, I said. Yeah. And I felt so stupid” (Anderson 112)

Titus even realized how uneducated he is in this conversation which was one of the major events that changed him.

People always say the first step to self-help is to admit that you have a problem and without Titus realizing things like this he could have stayed stubborn and not even cared when Violet was on her death bed. I think M.T. Anderson really did a good job with Titus. His character is understandable and one we can learn from. And even though I might not have liked him in the beginning I see that he is just like any other kid in this age. 

Kamelia A. Prompt 6

Work Cited

Anderson, M. T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2002. Print.