The Reflection of Frindle

Have you ever thought about how the words in the dictionaries are created? Most of the words have been created thousands of years ago; however, there are more and more words appearing because of the Internet or the popular culture. The novel Frindle by Andrew Clements is all about the process how the words are created and written into the dictionaries.

Nicholas Allen, the main character of the story, is a creative boy. Adults might define him as a troublemaker while teenagers and children, like us, would say he is a genius. He always asks questions to interrupt the teachers when the teachers are announcing tomorrow’s homework. Unexpectedly, this is only the beginning of the story of the word, Frindle. One day, Nicholas asks their language arts teacher that where all those words in the dictionaries come from. And then while he is doing on the research he finally find out that it is us ourselves who define the words for all of the objects. Nicholas believes that it would be fun if we change the word like some ordinary objects into another word to call them. Then, the word Frindlei is made by Nicholas. Although it is quite hard for the grown-ups to accept the new word, the new generation is very pleased to use it. No matter how hard the teachers or the principal try to stop, the popular of using Frindle is just like a rolling snow ball that becomes bigger and bigger. Few years later, the word Frindle is just like other ordinary words in the dictionaries which are being used in the whole world.

In my opinion, what Nicholas has done in the story is quite the same as a revolution and Nicholas is the leader of it. Everyone might think it is so ridiculous to fight against something regular or powerful; however, if somebody really wants to change the world or the regulation in our life, they would succeed. Take Gandhi for example. Gandhi spent most of his life persuading people to fight for their human rights. He used lots of ways to accomplish this mission including stopping paying taxes to England, and going on a hunger strike. All of the actions were nonviolent but they did give pressure to the government. The way Gandhi tried to fight against to the government is just the same as that Nicholas trys to argue with his teachers and the principal. Nicholas firmly believes that Frindle, the new word he made, would be popular all over the world and would be written in the dictionaries some day.

On the other hand, to start a revolution or to make a big change in the world both need bravery and perseverance. Nicholas doesn’t stop his plan while the teacher and the principal try to spoil it. His perseverance helps him finish the mission. If he doesn’t have the power to keep working on his plan, nothing would be different. What’s more, because of Nicholas’ courage, he has the strength to start a different word. It won’t be the same if Nicholas holds back when no one wants to follow the trend he starts. Like Gandhi’s experience, he has his bravery to fight against the powerful government. No matter how dangerous it was, he still tried his best to conquer the obstacle he met and never felt afraid of getting in to prison. Besides, Gandhi’s perseverance played an important role in the independence of India. Because of his perseverance, when Gandhi was in the prison, other people could feel the power of his mind and accomplish what he wanted to do and kept fighting against the government. Therefore, being brave and persistent on whatever we are going to do is the key to success.

Frindle is an exciting and philosophic book. What I have learned in the story is that everything in the world has their regulation; however, if we really want to make it different, we will succeed. As the saying goes, “where there is a will, there is a way.”