Curiosity :: Essays Papers

Curiosity One characteristic of Jessica Donnally in the book, Don’t Scream, by Joan Lowery Nixon, is curiosity. Jess spends much of her time attempting to find out the details of other people’s lives, and it often gets her in trouble. The main characters in the book are Jessica Donnally, Lori Roberts, Mark Malik and Scott Alexandar. Jess is a normal sixteen-year-old girl with an unsatisfiable curiosity and a great compassion for kids. Lori is Jess’s best friend. Mark and Scott have both recently moved to Oakberry, Texas. Jess is excited when she learns that there is going to be two new students in her school. When she finds out that one of them, Mark, is moving in next door, she jumps at the chance to welcome him. Her mom bakes a cake and when Jess takes it over to the Malik’s house, she finds out that they are a little different from most families. Mrs. Malik seems confused and threatened by Jess offering her the cake as a welcome gift. However, Mark seems semi-normal, and he explains that where his family used to live, in New York, people are not neighborly. Jessica likes Mark despite that she does not know much about him. When she calls Lori, Jess discovers that she is interested in a new student also, Scott. Before the school year starts, Jess and Lori decide to spend one last day at the nearby lake. To get to the lake, they take a shortcut through the woods. They are the only ones who know about the shortcut. On the way to the lake, they stop at a large rock they had named Castle Rock as children. Instead of continuing on to the lake, Jess and Lori sit on the rock and talk for a while. Then, Jess thinks someone is watching them, and both of them run out of the forest. That night, Jess sees Mark again and is curious about what looks like tree moss on his shoes. She immediately questions him about whether he has ever been in the woods. However, even when Mark says he has never been in the woods, Jess has a herd time believing him. Something in his voice does not seem right. The next morning, Mark asks Jess to walk with him to school. Mark tells her that he has a really bad temper and wants her to help him stay out of trouble.