Essay Questions

Stargirl emphasizes the quality of individuality and the struggle to accept it. How hard do you think it is to express individuality in public places? Is it usually widely accepted or do we tend to conform more?

In these modern times, the topic of conformity is on our heels everywhere we go. We tend to blend in with the majority crowd because we don't want to be left out. Individuality is hard to express when it is not accepted around you, which is why the high school has such a hard time accepting Stargirl's expressive personality. We might like to think that we are accepted as how we are, however the truth is that there will always be a stereotype and we will always want to fall into the general category so we can fit into the social norm. This is called "square thinking", something that is prevalent wherever we go in a public space today.

Stargirl's moment of awakening is when she comes back from the public speaking competition in hopes of gaining popularity, and only three people are outside waiting to congratulate her. How and why do you think this caused her to revert back to her former self? Was this a good or bad change?

Stargirl is so immersed in the thought of popularity that she seems to go to great lengths to try to gain it back. She pushes herself to win at contests but in return did not receive any appreciation. This caused her to revert back because it opened her eyes to the fact that nobody would accept her because she would never fit in the social norm, no matter how much she tried to gain the affection of her peers. She decided that it was better that she was herself and getting socially rejected rather than being a different person and having the same outcome. From the reader's perspective, we can see that this change was good because it was only when she was herself that she was happy and enthused about every action and situation she was placed in.