The beautiful thing about life is that you can always change, grow and get better. You are not defined by your past. You are not your mistakes. In the novel Shattered the main character Ian has changed throughout the novel to be a more mature person. There were many people that helped in changing Ian’s personality such as Mac, Mrs. Watkins, and Sarge. That made him a much better, empathetic, and caring person.
First of all, the story starts with Ian never trying his best, never trying to learn about things outside of his own little world. His teacher, Mrs. Watkins starts to pressure him and gets him into a volunteer job at a soup kitchen. A quote from the novel that shows Ian has potential issues “ I just thought you were hard on everybody “ (pg. 85). She laughed. “ I am, just more on some people. People I think have potential but are not using it. People like you “ (pg. 86). When Ian first started volunteering, he did not like it, he thought that homeless people were gross and disgusting. As the story goes on all of his thoughts changed. He begins to learn about the causes of homelessness such as, mental illness, and PTSD. Finally, Ian starts to understand and respect the homeless population.
Second of all, Ian meets Mac, Mac the person who changed his vision about homeless people completely. He explained to him that everyone on the streets is there for a reason. He took him on rounds to show him how they live, what they eat or what they drink. This made Ian feel empathy for all of these people on the streets. A quote that shows this “ Right now, tonight, how many people do you think are out there on the streets looking for a place to sleep?” I didn’t know why but it seemed important to me.” (pg. 90). Also Mac developed an understand...
