1
Suzanne Winters
Lauren Hülphers
6X Humanities
September 22, 2009
Susan, A Righteous Young Lady
In the book, A Righteous Young Lady by Willomina Helms, Susan Parker was the
eleven-year-old lead character. The story followed her through her daily life at school
and at home. Susan’s life was sometimes sad, often exciting, and almost always funny.
The story was driven by Susan’s interactions with her family and peers. There are a few
characteristics about Susan that made the story entertaining. She was shy, intelligent, and
at times, rather clumsy.
Though Susan had many defining characteristics, her shyness created many
notable conflicts within the book. When the boy she liked tried to talk to her, “she felt
her mouth freeze…..” (p. 49) Later, she overheard him say, “She doesn’t talk much.” (p.
87). Similarly, her own mother referred to her as “shy” (p. 103). Susan and her mother
believed her social life suffered as a result of her shyness, and this often made the story
more interesting. Often her silence was misinterpreted as apathy. For example, on pages
44-46, Susan wanted to make friends with Michelle. However, Michelle thought Susan
didn’t care for her, because she never spoke to her directly. Clearly Susan was impacted
by her inability to speak comfortably to others.
In addition to being shy, Susan was also very intelligent. Not only did she have
“the highest grade in the class,” (p. 27) but she also “could figure out any math problem
Mrs. Walker assigned” (p. 43). Her brother referred to her as “bright,” and her mother
2
said she was “a diligent student” (p. 99). Susan confidently entered the classroom and
took pride in her work. Schoolwork was one of the few tasks Susan completed with joy,
and her classmates noticed. Susan was smart and willing to work for her grades. Clearly
this made her stand out as intelligent, making her a sought after partner on class projects.
However, excellent her study habits might have been, she was a terrible athlete.
Not only did Susan see herself as horribly clumsy, but others did as well. For
example, her father said that Susan “tripped over her own feet” when playing soccer (p.
105). Her own mother referred to her as “a little clumsy” (p. 2), after she knocked Mrs.
Gegory’s purse out of her hands. Her best friend Claire jumped to her defense once when
others were making fun of Susan, only to immediately relent, saying, “Okay, I admit it.
She can’t play ball.” (p. 86). Similarly, on pages 11-13 and 108-114, there were two
different descriptions of Susan nervously standing in PE class while teams are being
chosen. Susan was always the last person picked for a team. It is no wonder Susan
focused so much of her attention on her schoolwork instead of sports.
Susan’s quiet and reserved nature impacted her in many different contexts. At
school and in her neighborhood she often was unable to make new friends. Her
intelligence and study habits helped her feel secure in the classroom, though she clearly
felt inadequate when playing sports. The author has created a typical eleven-year-old
character, self-conscious about her shyness and clumsiness, but proud of her
accomplishments.