The Eighteenth Emergency
The Eighteenth EmergencyThe Eighteenth Emergency
A common feature throughout the novel “The Eighteenth Emergency” is Benjie suffering from nerves and anxiety over Marv after writing an unpleasant note: “His shoes seemed to stick to the sidewalk, and his legs were heavy”. He suffers also from an internal conflict after. He constantly contemplates what he should do- whether he should face his foe (Marv Hammerman) or continue running away from him whenever he sees him. Benjie gets very scared and panics about what will happen depending on the course of action he takes.
Benjie is an easily intimidated boy who is convinced he is weak. Because of the comment he made about Marv, Marv has the perfect opportunity to scare Benjie. The effects of Marv’s intimidation towards Benjie begin to show soon after Benjie starts running from Marv: “Mouse tried again to concentrate, but he couldn’t. The thought of Marv Hammerman filled his mind completely”. We can tell at this stage that Benjie is really regretting ever having written the note because he know he is going to suffer the consequences. Even though Marv has not yet threatened Benjie, Benjie is still scared. This is because he realises that he has done wrong, and Marv is going to make him pay. The thing that scares Benjie the most is when he is going to be hurt. The reason this scares Benjie is that the suspense is really building up while he waits for Marv to strike. He continues to ponder over his conscience- should he speak to Marv or not. He keeps on worrying about what course...
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