Tales of the Madman Underground

Fairness is what justice really is - Potter Stewart

In the novel, “Tales of the Madman Underground” by John Barnes, Karl the protagonist is in his senior year of high school. Ever since middle school Karl and his friends have been in group therapy, they all call it the “madman underground”, because everyone in the school thinks that they’re strange, and weird people. But this year, Karl wants things to be different. He wants to be normal, for just one year, before he gets out of Lightsburg, Ohio a town that has rundown shops, and not much for high schoolers to do. Karl’s mom is an alcoholic and spends all of Karls college fund on alcohol and drugs. Karl works five jobs to be able to buy food for his house, and he has to hide his money in stashes so his mother doesn't steal it. In life our actions have direct effect on our lives or others’ lives.

When people try to help others it can work out. For example, Paul and Karl’s friendship starts to reform when they both hang out together at Karl’s house. They both wanted to be friends again, they tried and it worked out. Another example, Karl’s mother (Beth), turns off Karl’s alarm and makes him breakfast, because it is raining so he doesn’t have to work. She wanted to show her love to Karl and she did so in a very parently way. Normally she doesn't act like a mother or a parent, but here she does. Some people might think that Beth doesn't love Karl, but she does. She just struggles finding a way to show her love.

When people do things without considering the consequences of their actions, bad things can happen. When Beth’s heart is broken, she becomes miserable when her boyfriend “stands her up” and doesn’t show up. She bawls her eyes out, screams, destroys the house. I think it’s unfair that Karl had to deal with this kind of thing, he shouldn't have to. Beth’s reaction is pretty immature. An adult, especially a parent shouldn't act this way in front of their child. Karl is sad and his mom is unhappy, he might realize or think that there is no one to support or comfort him. Beth should be thinking about how this reaction will affect her child.

In life the things we do can change someone or someone’s life for better or for worse. Sometimes in life, when people don’t think about the aftereffect to their action they can make someone very angry or unhappy. Teens can connect with this by thinking about their actions, including bullying.