Am I Blue?

      I've recently read a short story called "Am I Blue?", By Bruce Coville. "Am I blue?" is about a sixteen year old boy who's confused about his sexuality and finds a solution when he meets his 'fairy godfather' Melvin. Vincent, the main character, has a bully, named Butch, who seems to be homophobic.  

          While I was reading this short story, I knew this story had a "Person Vs. Self" type of conflict. The main character is going through an internal problem. He is confused about his sexuality and is conflicted on whether or not to reveal his true self and stand out in his school. Vincent finds the solution to this problem when he meets his fairy godfather, Melvin, who I believe would be his mentor. In this story, the main character would be his own antagonist and the main character would have a mentor. 

         I believe that the main character is his own antagonist because he fights with himself throughout the whole story. You notice in some parts of the story that he argues to himself about whether or not to make this decision. For example, when he viewed the world in a different perspective (He knew who was gay because they were blue), he seemed conflicted on whether or not to let the whole country see it in the same way. You read how he was worried that he would have to face Butch's wrath. It almost resulted into him not wishing for the 3rd gay fantasy. But he convinced himself to wish for it and stand out.

        Since the main character, Vincent, would be his own antagonist, he would need a mentor to help him overcome the internal problem. In this case, the mentor would be Melvin, his fairy god-father, because Melvin helps Vincent get rid of the confusion. Melvin helps Vincent overcome the homophobia at his school. For example, Melvin said to Vincent "They would find out that they had been surrounded by gays all the time, and survived the experience just fine, thank you. They'd have to face the fact that there are gay cops and gay farmers, gay teachers and gay soldiers, gay parents and gay kids, The hiding would finally have to stop". This advice influenced(or at least was one of the reasons) Vincent to wish for the 3rd gay fantasy therefore ridding the school of homophobia. 

        Overall, I think this story has a "Person Vs. Self" conflict. The main character is his own antagonist. The main character is against himself. He's conflicted on what is the right thing to do and what isn't. Even though he gets help from a mentor, he finds the solution on his own. What he thinks is right, not what everybody else thinks is right.