51 pages • 1 hour read
Charming as a Verb
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Themes
The Pressures of Young Adulthood
The teenagers in Charming as a Verb experience pressure in different ways. They attend an elite high school in New York City where they are taught that hard work will get them anywhere in life. FATE Academy is a highly competitive environment that has high standards for their young students. FATE treats their adolescent students as adults; the students at FATE do not have adult supervision for their extracurriculars, for example, because they are expected to behave with maturity. FATE Academy represents a valuable education, but it is also an institution that symbolizes the complexities of privilege and the pressures of young adulthood.
In America, high schoolers often compete to gain admission into elite universities. They often adopt the idea that where they go to college will impact their future. Henri has internalized this message; he believes that his future is secure if he can get into Columbia University. He also believes that if he does not get into Columbia, his rejection will be a personal failure. In this way, Henri equates his worth with his college admissions, and eventually succumbs to the pressure of the college admissions process, a pressure so intense he sacrifices his ethical code. When Henri sends the false recommendation from Chantale Troy’s computer, he debases himself by ignoring moral imperatives because he believes admission into Columbia will be worth the guilt of his mistake.
Henri realizes very quickly that he went too far in his reaction to the pressures placed on young adults. He learns that being a young adult is not about cheating your way around the pressures, but is instead about integrity, accountability, and flexibility in the face of external challenges. Corinne and Ming showcase these traits in response to the pressure on young adults to be accepted to preferred colleges. Ming gets into Peking University on his merit. Corinne accomplishes the goal of learning more social skills to warrant an improved letter of recommendation from her teacher, which helps in achieving admission at Princeton.
Due to his family’s socio-economic status and their Haltiwanger Hunger, Henri also feels pressure to help his family move forward. He creates his own dog walking business, even fabricating an official website so he can look more reliable for the wealthy Upper West Siders he serves. Henri embraces the adult responsibility of juggling different jobs: He has school, his dog walking business, his extra-curriculars, and his social and familial life. Henri experiences these young adult pressures when other, more financially privileged teenagers like Marvyn get to enjoy the ease of their high school experiences.
Charming as a Verb presents the message that although it is admirable to be a responsible young adult, it is also important to be authentic to oneself and not succumb to pressures.
Perceptions of the American Dream
Jacques Haltiwanger and the Haltiwanger Hunger embody the American Dream. Jacques’s perception of success is an example that the American Dream—the idea that hard work will reap rewards in America and that the system is designed to favor hard workers—still exists. Jacques considers his life in America a blessing, even though he works in a difficult and thankless job to provide security for his family. Jacques sees the American Dream working through the successes of his son, Henri. Henri’s education, social circle, and proximity to power prove to Jacques that the American Dream is possible. Jacques’s American Dream is not the same one that Henri adopts for himself.
As immigrants from Haiti, Henri’s parents left behind their families, friends, and everything they knew to create a better life for their son. They want Henri to struggle less, have more opportunity, and have more security. Their sacrifices have given Henri a special life defined by a good quality education, potential for his future, and safety. Henri has a difficult time, however, with the pressures placed on him with regard to his parents’ version of the American Dream. Henri perceives America in a different way than his parents do. Henri experiences racism, marginalization, and social pressures that his parents do not understand because they believe the privilege of attending FATE Academy is enough to alleviate any other problems. Henri does not know what it is like to be truly poor and hungry, or to never have the time to explore his hobbies, interests, and passions.
As there are other schools that better fit Henri’s dreams and goals, the story offers the message that the American Dream can force people away from their authentic selves. What’s more, Philippe calls attention to the ways in which the American college system is sometimes rigged in favor of the already wealthy and powerful. Marvyn’s admission to Columbia is probable because he is a legacy student whose family has donated to the school. In comparison, Henri must work doubly hard just to get an interview for Columbia. The pressure Henri is under to move ahead in life is a pressure far more oppressive than what Marvyn experiences; Henri feels that the idea that hard work will get you anywhere you want to be in America is faulty.
Significantly, when Henri makes the decision to attend a university based on his interests and goals, he chooses McGill, part of the Canadian higher education system, a more affordable alternative than many US schools. Jacques learns how to let go of some of his expectations of the American Dream by letting Henri form his own dreams and advocate for his own desires. Ultimately, the real American Dream is that Henri has choices with what he can do with his life, choices Jacques never had.
Self-Discovery of One’s Authentic Identity
Identity and self-discovery are ideas commonly explored in young adult fiction. Many teenagers are in a formative state in their lives; they are old enough to form their own opinions yet are still trying to establish their autonomy and determine who they are. The pursuit of identity and self-discovery is a staple of adolescent experience and is therefore crucial to the thematic development of Charming as a Verb.
Henri has spent formative years dedicating himself to school, to friends, to part-time work, and to achieving his parents’ American Dream for him. By senior year, Henri is so busy with school, work, the debate team, and social occasions that he has not devoted time to identifying who he is and what future goals to pursue. He internalizes other peoples’ expectations of him; what other people project onto Henri is the version of Henri that he presents to the world. Henri’s characteristic smile is a mask he wears to protect himself against a world that tries to find ways to marginalize him. Henri relies on his charming personas to fit in and get ahead. These constructions of himself do not fully embody who he is. Henri is multi-layered and has vulnerabilities that he refuses to share with others. For example, Henri does not let anyone, even his girlfriend and his best friend, see his apartment because he fears that they will judge him for not being rich. Henri worries about how other people perceive him and not enough to how he sees himself.
Henri begins to show his real identity when he befriends Corinne and they soon become boyfriend-girlfriend. With Corinne, Henri can be more honest about what he wants out of life. He is a talented and passionate sneaker designer but keeps this a secret from most people because he worries that his interest will be seen as impractical and frivolous. Corinne encourages Henri to be his authentic self, to let go of his armor of charm, and to express his range of emotion. Corinne even sets up a trip to Montreal to help encourage Henri to consider a future at McGill, a much better fit for him than Columbia. In all other relationships, Henri puts on a synthetic version of himself (one that Donielle sees right through in his interview for Columbia). In not being his authentic self, Henri presents a fabricated and faux personality to others. What he believes will help him move forward in life is actually detrimental to his future and his sense of self.
Ultimately, it takes a life-changing choice to change this mindset and embark on the road to self-discovery. When Henri turns away from his values and fakes a letter of recommendation for himself, he must question the traits and goals of his personas and learn how to stand up for who he is and what he wants. His argument and resulting discussion with Jacques are crucial in Henri’s coming-of-age and acceptance of his authentic self. By being honest with his father about his experiences and feelings, Henri convinces his father to free him of his unrealistic expectations. Henri is then able to break free from societal expectations and create a future that is more authentic to his developing identity.
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