Simon Birch Case

Simon Birch

Something I thought really stood out was how Simon thought that he was “God's messenger”, and that all of his actions were through God. This is definitely a person vs. self conflict. Throughout the story, a lot of things happened that you could say were bad, because of Simon. For example, when he hit the baseball and it hit Ms.Wentworth right in the head and killed her. Simon thinks that because she died from the baseball, it was God's way of saying that it was her time, through Simon. He thought all of this, because he felt very guilty and that's why I think this is a person vs.self conflict.

When Simon thinks that he is “God's messanger”, it gets Joe mad. Him and Joe get into an argument about it too. Joe thinks that everything happened for a reason, for instance Simon is little, because he was born a sick baby. Simon's thoughts on himself affect the characters and story a lot. In fact, the whole story is really based on it. I think the conflict wasn't solve, but more looked at in a positive way, instead of negative. At first, Simon thought it was bad that he was “God's messenger”, but at the end I think he realized that it's not so bad after all. When the bus crashes into the lake, Simon saves all the little children, and shows that he's not just put on the Earth for bad things (like when he was guilty from Joe's mom).

I was happy when the conflict was “resolved”, because I knew that the things caused by Simon weren't on purpose. Everything was an accident and I wouldn't want Simon to think otherwise. When he saved all the kids on the bus, it really did show how much of a blessing and hero Simon was. He proved the reverend, and everyone else (besides Joe, who already knew) that he is truly amazing, and so much more than a trouble maker with a disability.