Field Guide to the North American Teenager

“If the flavors were different—pack of quirky outsiders here, ruthless-borderline-feral popular girls there—it all mostly amounted to one thing: in versus out. Norris Kaplan—black French Canadian Norris Kaplan—had no delusion about where he would fall in that demarcation.”

After a long list of American teen movies and television that Norris has consumed, Norris assesses where he might fall within the stereotypical American high school social hierarchy, concluding that he’s destined to be an outcast. This quote relates to the theme of The Influence of Stereotypes on Judgment by showing how Norris begins his time at Anderson High by judging people through the lens of stereotypes he’s absorbed through American media.

“‘What,’ she continued, smirking, ‘you thought everyone in Texas was a backwoods homophobe, is that it?’”

Maddie gives Norris a hard time for believing everyone in Texas is prejudiced against gay people. This quote develops the theme of The Impact of Stereotypes on Judgment by showing how Norris allows his judgment of Texans to come from his presumptions about them based on stereotypes.

“This was the other half, he realized. Kids who had never spent a single moment of their lives not fitting in. It was the sort of party he thought existed only in the minds of screenwriters trying to aggrandize the high school experience.”

In this quote, Norris assesses his first high school house party, likening it to the parties he’s seen in movies. This quote emphasizes the way Norris’s judgment and perception of his social situations are influenced by his preconceived notions of American high school social dynamics.

“The notebook had become his own personal field guide, a spot for his observations of everything and everyone that had crossed his path since arriving in Texas.”

This quote at the beginning of Chapter 9 explains how Norris has been utilizing the notebook given to him in Chapter 2. This quote not only establishes the field guide as a place where Norris writes his thoughts about the things and people of Texas but also gives context to the field-guide-like entries at the beginning of each chapter of the novel, indicating that they are snippets of Norris’s own opinions about the people around him.

“Norris was able to forget about everything for a while: about how much he hated Austin, the sticky suckage of sweating through at least three shirts every day, the orange paint he was still finding in random places. (Seriously, how?) It all faded away on the ice. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was actually enjoying himself.”

After Norris and Liam’s first hang-out, practicing hockey together, Norris recognizes that he’s not hating his time in Austin when he hangs out with Liam. This first friendship encounter signifies the beginning of Norris forming meaningful connections in Austin.

“The thing about Maddie was that for all the balls she always seemed to be juggling—the restaurant, the cheerleading squad, Norris himself, really—she seemed to take a back seat in her own life. Norris had stopped wondering where she found the time to do anything else when he realized that maybe she didn’t do anything else. She was the opposite of Norris with his very healthy focus on his own life.”

This quote provides a more in-depth examination of Maddie’s overachieving, overextending persona, as Norris realizes she makes no time for herself while working on everyone else’s problems and success. This quote relates to the theme of Selfishness Versus Selflessness as Norris compares Maddie’s selfless nature to his self-centered nature.

“As far as Aarti went, Norris could tell there were definitely shades of Manic Pixie Dream Girl involved there, depending on which movie was being referenced.”

In this quote, Norris likens Aarti to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, aligning her to the stereotypes he’s seen in movies about artsy, indie girls. This quote relates to the theme of The Influence of Stereotypes on Judgment as Norris allows his experience with American teen media tropes to color his judgment of Aarti.

“‘Because being alone is an unnatural state,’ Aarti said with a frown […] ‘Chances are she made people close to her leave. When you push people away, they leave. All that’s left of you is the beautiful tragedy of your solitude. That’s what the filmmaker was trying to capture, I think.’”

After seeing Paper Family on his first date with Aarti, Norris and Aarti disagree on the meaning of the film about the lonely origami artist. Aarti’s analysis parallels the way Norris pushes people away throughout the novel. Paper Family and the respective analyses from Norris and Aarti symbolize the way Norris sees himself versus the way others see him.

“Another thing Norris and Eric had always had in common in a school that catered to mostly white and Catholic families was that dread that at any point their entire existence might get reduced to a single-letter word. N-word. F-word. Norris never judged Eric for wanting to avoid that if he could.”

This quote explores the way Norris’s Blackness and Eric’s sexuality create common ground between the friends as both feel the daily anxiety that comes with knowing someone could dehumanize them with a slur. This quote develops the theme of The Impact of Words.

“If we’re going to boil individuals down to a single label that encompasses the whole of their being…between the hockey and the skiing and the fact that you spend a lot of time with cheerleaders trying to figure out how to successfully date ‘hot chicks,’ your closest category is, well, jock.”

This quote from Liam occurs after he first compares Norris to a jock, and Norris protests. Liam’s perception of Norris as a jock develops the theme of The Influence of Stereotypes on Judgment through Liam’s simultaneous disdain for labels as well as the utility of them when assigning Norris his own label. This quote and Norris’s subsequent disagreement develop the idea that labels and stereotypes do not paint a full picture of a person.

“Norris opened his mouth to complain […] but as he looked around at the group, joking around and laughing as they recalled the best moments of their first team practice, he closed it again and smiled.”

Despite Norris’s habit of complaints, cynicism, and irreverent jokes, Norris realizes that the hockey team has just had a good day together and understands his complaints would bring the mood down. This quote develops the theme of The Impact of Words by showing how Norris understands the power his words could have over the tone of a group setting.

“Maddie smiled at the word friend, as if she’d caught him at something embarrassing. But in truth, Norris didn’t mind how easily the word had come. Liam had been in it for the hockey, at least at first, but between securing him this job and all the help with Aarti, Maddie had been kind of a weird gift from the gods.”

Despite his initial disdain for all cheerleaders, including Maddie, Norris comes to find friendship in Maddie McElwee, thanks to her giving nature and willingness to help and put up with Norris. This quote develops the connection between Norris and Maddie, which the novel explores in later chapters.

“He liked making her laugh. More than that—liked that she liked him. Aarti was worldly and cool and, somehow, his misanthropic streak appeared to have found a welcoming audience, which was more than he could say for…well, anyone except his parents and Eric, really.”

This quote explains Norris’s feelings for Aarti and how they partially stem from her tolerance of his irreverent, misanthropic humor and cynical outlook. Norris has often alienated himself from others by saying the wrong thing, but he finds Aarti likes his sense of humor and disregard for people in general.

“Norris hated the idea that he might just be the latest in a string of people to take advantage of her generosity like this. He reminded himself that it wasn’t technically him—it was Patrick’s dumb ass.”

While relying on Maddie’s kindness to house a drunken Patrick, Norris acknowledges that Maddie does too much for other people and attempts to absolve his own guilt for taking advantage of that by bringing the drunk Patrick to her family wedding. This quote relates to the theme of Selfishness Versus Selflessness.

“‘Y’know, I’ve been on the verge of liking you lately,’ Norris warned, holding the bucket at bay. ‘But use that word again and I won’t bother to pee on you even if you’re fatally stung by a jellyfish and your life can only be saved by my pee.’”

After a drunken Patrick drops an anti-gay slur, Norris warns Patrick about the consequences of using that language around him. Norris uses Patrick’s need for a vomit bucket to emphasize the gravity of Patrick’s word choice. This quote develops the theme of The Impact of Words.

“Norris was known to occasionally say something that left people wide-eyed and stunned. Or, in the worst cases, always accidental, genuinely hurt. Only afterward, in that awkward silence that would stretch from minutes to days, he would realize what had happened.”

After Norris accidentally offends Liam with his careless wording regarding Liam’s mental health, Norris considers the instances in the past where his mouth would hurt people and cost him friendships. This quote develops the theme of The Impact of Words.

“In his notebook, he knew, there was a rather vicious string of sentences about her, back when she was still only referred to as ‘The Skinny Madison’ instead of just Maddie. His opinion of her had changed since then, of course, but he wanted Aarti not to worry.”

In this quote, Norris acknowledges the hurtful way he’s written about Maddie in his field guide, even though they are now close friends. Norris’s field guide and the vicious words he writes about others based on their stereotypes develop both the themes of The Impact of Words and The Influence of Stereotypes on Judgment.

“The uncomfortable thing when these things happened—because Lord knows this wasn’t the first instance of casual racism Norris had encountered as one of the only black kids at his elementary school—was the expectation of a reaction. Norris never wanted to be the black guy who escalated things.”

This quote explores the way Norris feels he must be extra diligent and collected in the face of racism because he doesn’t want to feed into existing stereotypes. Norris’s choice to stay calm and unreactive when facing racism is unlike Norris’s behavior in other instances. This quote develops the theme of The Influence of Stereotypes on Judgment as Norris uses his judgment to not affirm others’ stereotype-driven misconceptions about him.

“Was it the real him? He’d felt badly about it, sure, and in the case of Liam, he’d made sure to apologize. But he still couldn’t help thinking those things, and half the time, he still couldn’t stop his mouth from saying them. ‘I guess I…I guess I do judge people.’”

After Maddie steals and reads Norris’s field guide, filled with bitter and vicious judgments about the people of Anderson High—including Maddie—Norris considers how much of the field guide reflects the real him. This quote develops the motifs of Norris’s field guide and Norris’s mouth as vessels for the themes of The Impact of Words and The Influence of Stereotypes on Judgment.

“‘You’re not Liam. Or Eric. You don’t get to be.’ She quivered, chest heaving as though she just ran a marathon. ‘And that’s unfair, and I’m sorry, baby. I really am, but that’s the world. It was for your dad, it is for you, and it will be for your son too, so you might as well get used to it.”

In this quote, Judith, shaking with fear and anger, lectures Norris about the dangers of existing as a Black teenager in North America. This quote not only sums up the fear that Norris and Judith have alluded to throughout the novel but also demonstrates the fear that Black boys and men in North America must live with every day. By highlighting how racism and racial stereotypes contribute to the dangers faced by Black men and teens, this quote develops the theme of The Influence of Stereotypes on Judgment.

“Flipping through the entries, Norris started to feel sick to his stomach. What had Aarti found funny in any of these? They were bitter rants, mean asides. This guy was homesick, insecure, bitter, and so fucking lonely he spent his lunch hours walking around without going anywhere.”

As Norris flips through his field guide, he realizes how terrible his words sound, even to himself. He understands he’s changed and grown from the judgmental person he was when he started making the field guide. This quote shows Norris’s growth as a character and develops the field guide as a motif for the theme of The Impact of Words.

“Maybe the whole point of approaching life as origami that the documentary had missed was learning to fold your sharp edges.”

In this quote, Norris alludes to Paper Family, having finally come to understand the meaning behind the film about the lonely origami artist. Norris relates it to himself, understanding that his sharp edges put people off and push them away. This quote develops the film as a symbol of how Norris understands himself. 

“Happy endings were artificial things manufactured out of less-than-ideal circumstances. A divorce wasn’t the end of a family, nor was someone moving away the end of a friendship. These things could be endings, but only if you decided to make them so. Otherwise, things just added up and continued forward, across the map, in new shapes and iterations.”

As the novel closes, Norris acknowledges that he cannot expect a happy movie-ending out of life because life keeps going. This quote shows how Norris has grown from his habit of comparing life to media and has tempered his expectations about how his life in high school might go.