Character Sketch Essay

Kaley Martin

Mrs. Zurkowski

English 9/Purples

14 January 2011

Character Sketch Essay

            When students transfer to high school, of course things are going to seem a bit magical. But not, per say, Knights of the Round Table, Merlin and King Arthur magical. But maybe this isn’t the case at Avalon High…. In the book Avalon High by Meg Cabot, Ellie Harrison finds friendship, fantasy, and foes at her new school.

            Ellie Harrison is the daughter of two medieval history authors, and therefore is named after Lady Elaine of Astolat, the Lady of the Lake. She is a junior, starting fresh at Avalon High, a high school in Washington D.C. She’s a tall runner who likes to float in her pool, oh, and she has a crush on a certain A. William Wagner.

            The first encounter that changed Ellie was her initial meeting with Will Wagner, captain of the football team, star student, and everyone’s favorite guy. When Ellie Harrison moves with her parents to Washington D.C., she doesn’t expect anything really special to happen. She anticipates being shy at her new school, not having many friends to start with, and she expects her life to be generally boring. When school starts, Ellie joins the running team. During a run through the park near her house, Ellie literally runs into a mysterious but very attractive boy. She then finds out that this boy goes to her school, she is immediately intrigued. But then, as Ellie describes, this mysterious boy, Will Wagner, appears at her house. “Because A. William Wagner was standing on top of Spider Rock, looking down at me” (Cabot 31). He introduces himself, and eventually gets invited to dinner by Ellie’s parents. When Ellie asked exactly why he was there, he replied, “…it just seemed like…I don’t know. That we’d met before, or something. But we haven’t, obviously. I mean, I can see that now” (33-34). This encounter changes the relationship between Ellie and Will, making them friends instead of strangers.

            The second event that changed Ellie was the post-football game pool party at Will’s house. As the friendship between Ellie and Will developed, Will invited Ellie to come to his house for a pool party after the championship football game. Ellie accepted, and after the football game was over, she arrived at the Wagner’s house. While there, Ellie met Marco, Will’s step-brother with a past. Before Ellie came to the party, she was warned that Marco was a psychopath who had gotten expelled from Avalon High because he attempted to kill a teacher. Ellie’s first impression of Marco was, “He also didn’t look like the monster I’d been led to believe he was. He certainly didn’t look like someone who’d try to kill a teacher” (107). But on further acquaintance with Marco, Ellie learns of his true malicious character. ““Oh, please,” Marco said very sarcastically, when he observed this. Then, staring at me- my rapid breathing, my white-knuckled grip on the banister- he shook his head once more and said, “You aren’t even supposed to be on his side. What kind of lily maid are you, anyway?” (127) This is the start of Ellie’s realization that she is, in fact, a reincarnation of the Lily Maid of Astolat.

            Ellie’s adventure ends with her transforming from an awkward, shy girl to a confident, true living replica of her namesake: Elaine of Astolat. She finds friends through struggle, comes to a greater sense of self-awareness, and learns her own strength. Oh, and she also gets a boyfriend by the name of A. William Wagner, as she describes on page 286, “Because it was easy not to believe in the powers of darkness when Will was holding me in his arms, and my cheek was resting on his shoulder”. Ellie even describes her change on page 286, “And I realized something as we kissed. Something strange. And that’s that I was happy. Really happy. For the first time in…well, a long time”.

            Ellie’s transformation is teaching that throughout any struggle, there’s always power in friendship. Meg Cabot(the author) is trying to say that no matter how hard things may seem, evil can always be overcome with belief. Bravery and courage can be learned from Ellie and her transformation, as can perseverance and compassion.