Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Why Does April Hate Becky?

The strip’s perspective:

April's difficulty with Becky started when Becky and April hit Grade 8 and the two of them started off to high school for the Home Ec classes. Becky decided she was going to be a popular girl, which meant she wanted to show off her figure, cut down kids who were less popular than she was, and (in an interesting move), she wanted the band 4Evah to be successful in order to gain her even more attention. In her solo career, we have seen Becky cut a demo CD, perform with a band of drugged-up professionals, do a radio commercial and now she is doing some TV gig. At one point, we have seen Becky with a variety of new friends, which April indicated were fair weather friends, and we have also seen Becky alone at the mall, which April indicated was a sign it was lonely at the top.

April chose to do everything the opposite of Becky. She already had a boyfriend with Gerald, so she had no desire to attract boys with the way she looked. She had no desire to be liked by anyone outside her band member circle, and aside from Shannon Lake, she has managed to go 2 years into high school without making a single new friend not related to her band activities. She has also managed to go 2 years into high school, without a single extracurricular activity outside of her band. We have been told Eva does tennis, Gerald does basketball and ice hockey, and Duncan does soccer; but April does her band, babysitting and working at Lilliputs’. While Becky is trying to be known by more and more people, April sticks with her own crowd. She hasn’t had a big birthday party inviting more than a few friends since she turned 13.

The criticisms of Becky fall along the lines of each and everything she did which was the opposite of April, and some made more sense than other. No one would support Becky’s put downs of Shannon Lake, but the other criticisms are nonsensical. As long as Becky is the opposite of April, there remains animosity between them. It is only when Becky is humbled to be more contrite like April, does April like Becky again.

The monthly letters perspective: This is not going to be what you expect.

April's Letter, April 2004

Right now, we are on spring break and my parents have gone to Mexico. Nice!!!! I am staying at Becker's (that's Becky's) place and we are getting along ok. We were both in her room to start off, but her mom made me sleep in the den because she said we made too much noise. They have this folding couch that is so not comfortable. We put a sleeping bag under the mattress, but it still feels gross- and it squeaks. If I get up at night, it sounds like 10 cats howling and I know for sure, Beck's mom is keeping tabs on what we do, so we haven't done much except raid the fridge and talk. We can talk for hours. It's mostly about guys at school and who likes who. There are some arrogant girls we can't stand, and we get off on talking about "what if". You know? what if Salem (check out my navel jewels) Drewson got caught with her boyfriend in the stairwell like Keitha and Raphael and what if Mr. Ringwart got a potato stuck in the tailpipe of his car (some guy did that to the school bus but it fell out before anything good happened) and what if we won a billion dollars and had dates with rock stars and what if, what if!
Sometimes Beckers an' I don't get along. She can be really moody and treat me like I'm dust or something, but she gets over it and I act like nothing happened, even though it hurts. Her mom and dad fight. I could hear them once. They don't yell or anything, but stuff happens and you can tell in the morning that she was crying.

This text emphasizes Becky’s bad home life and her moodiness, which means nothing to Becky but it hurts April. However, it is interesting to note that April and Becky both enjoy gossiping about other people.

April's Letter, August 2004

Gerald and Becky have been sort of hanging out together while I'm working. Like I don't know what's going on. Ger and I had made a promise not to hook up- not for any of us to hook up because of the band. I hope it's just for "friendship" like Becker says.
Becky's parents have been fighting all the time this summer, so she's been a total pain to be around. She's always mad or crying, and I guess it's okay that she's talking to Gerald. I'm not there to hang out with her, and he doesn't mind her moods. I still feel funny about them hanging around together when I'm babysitting all day, but it's not like I can stop them.

Another indication that Becky is moody due to her parents and April’s dislike of her moody behaviour, with the added note that Gerald doesn’t mind (is less sensitive to) her moodiness.

April's Letter, September 2004

Some of the girls dress too old for their age, for sure, especially the grade six kids. They wear all kinds of makeup and shirts like the ones Liz wears sometimes when she goes to the bar. My parents don't like it when Liz goes out like that, and if I tried it they'd clobber me. Becky dresses like that too, but I think it's to make her parents pay attention to her. They're fighting a lot lately, and I guess she thinks that if they're yelling at her it's better than having them yell at each other. Who knows. At least they both agree on something.

Home EC at the high school starts. Becky goes for older dress. April rejects it.

April's Letter, October 2004

Becky's complaining already, but she's figured out how to make her skirt shorter by rolling it up so she can still be obnoxious in her own way. She's getting on my nerves lately, but I try to be nice because I know she's having a tough time with her parents at home and she really just wants attention.

Did you know that Becky has never used a screwdriver? True!! Not only that, she's never done her own laundry or cooked a meal. Helllooo! We're going to have apartments someday, is she going to bring her mother? She HAS unloaded the dishwasher. Like that's going to help her learn anything. Oh right, and she vacuumed a couple of times.

Man, I am waaay ahead of Beckers in home ec!

April begins a criticism of Becky, over and above her prior criticisms. Now she taunts Becky’s ignorance in Home Economics. April is no longer just reacting to things Becky does. This is the true beginning of April’s hatred for Becky. It continues on in the next letter even greater.

April's Letter, December 2004

Things get so weird at school, socially. Everyone's got their little group where they fit in and there's so much drama between the groups. This is especially bad if you date someone that your friends don't like, or if you have a friend from your neighborhood who doesn't fit in with your friends from school.
Becky's really into the drama and gossip and also with trying really hard to be cool. That would be okay if she wasn't so mean to people who aren't as pretty as her, or the people who are weird in any way. She laughs at the punks and the mopy emo kids, which is okay because they can take it. They like it, actually. But she's not nice to Shannon or the other Special Needs kids at the high school we go to for Home Ec and that makes me mad because they can't help being different. Becky's driving me crazy; I'm actually embarrassed to be around her in class, because when she starts talking really loudly about someone everyone thinks I agree with her. I don't want to start a fight in class, but it's going to happen soon if she doesn't shut her mouth. I'd like to kick her out of the band, but the guys wouldn't like that. She's a good singer, and she's pretty. The thing is, she still has her good moments. She's just mean because she doesn't stop to think; she's so wrapped up in her own life and her problems that the drama is a distraction for her.

April states specifically Becky is trying to be cool, and she no longer wants to be associated with her. Notice the line about why April can’t kick her out of the band, well before Becky actually quits. Believe it or not, April will actually get worse.

April's Letter, January 2005

I am the only one I know (not counting guys) who doesn't have a piercing. Not even my ears! Becky keeps trying to get me to have them done but I'm not into it. Well, not yet. I don't wear jewelry that much. Not even rings. I wear a watch 'cause I need to tell time. Otherwise I'm non-metallic.

April says she is determined to remain unpierced, which is a significant statement for a 13-year-old girl. If you want a real challenge, try to find a strip where April wears earrings. There are a few, but they are so infrequent, my guess is that April is still unpierced. Clip-ons for you, baby!

April's Letter, February 2005

I think Becky is actually a bit jealous because her phone's older and doesn't have a camera in it. At least I think that's what was bugging her this morning. She's being a total pain in the butt these days, like she has permanent PMS or something. I'm trying so hard to be nice to her but it's hard to keep from yelling back when she's in a snit about something, you know?
Her parents are still having problems and even though I'd hate for them to split up, it would almost be better. At absolute minimum, they need to stop dragging her into the middle of things because she's so seriously stressed out right now that she's been biting her nails like crazy and I can tell that she only has her homework done half the time lately.
She really screwed up over the holidays. That older guy she thought was soooo cooooool ended up being a total creep (I have a ruder word for him, but it'll never get past my Mom if she reads this). Becky told me all the details - good thing for her that I can keep a secret even if I'm mad at her. Man, her parents would kill her if they knew. I almost want to tell them, but then she'd never want to see me again and now she needs friends, since her parents can't be bothered to be parents or even listen to her these days. The guys in the band are going to practice a lot more often now, so we can keep her busy with stuff that won't wreck her life. Maybe I'll call her Mom when I know Becky's out, just to suggest that the two of them go shopping or to the mini-putt place like they used to do. Maybe I won't. I don't know what to do. It's none of my business, I guess. I get really confused when I try to figure this out!
My parents can be a total pain in my butt, but one on one they're okay. I'm spending some time with my Dad while Mom is away with Liz. I taught him how to play Dance Dance Revolution (he was awful) and he showed me how to change a tire and how to do oil changes. He asked how the band was going - I told him a bit about the deal with Becker and he just suggested that I try to put up with her moods. I will for now. He's probably right.

Here poor April is confused. She wants to hate on Becky, but she wants to help Becky through the Jeffo Bray incident. It’s hard to hate someone, when you so desperately want to lord their mistakes over them. Look at the lines where it is clear April is thinking about the Jeffo Bray incident as possibly blackmail material with Becky’s parents. Nice!

April's Letter, March 2005

Becky's been staying at our house during the week sometimes because of her parents, and somehow my Mom found out about that jerk Becky was seeing over Christmas.

Mom let Becky stay at our place for a few nights because of her parents, which is ok. We sit up and talk about totally everything. I told her that Gerald and I are trying to be "just friends" because if we did do the love thing, the band would break up if we did. This is hard. I really like him. I mean, really! What I don't tell Becky is - I hope he doesn't start liking her!!!

Obviously, April tells her mom about Jeffo (who else would tell Elly?) and Becky and she starts putting Becky up. Good for you Elly. We never saw this in the strip, but it is interesting nevertheless. Naturally April’s reaction is to worry Becky is going to steal away Gerald, just as she is playing “just friends” with him for the sake of the band. Who wants to guess that Gerald was not the person who thought up that “just friends” rule?

April's Letter, April 2005

We're doing the "family party" tomorrow, but tonight it's just me and the band. It'll be fun. I'm gonna go have a shower in a minute and figure out what to wear.
I'm kind of mad at Becky again, and I really don't want her to come along tonight but it would just cause problems with the band if I left her out. She doesn't even get why I'm upset with her. At least we're going to the movies so we won't have to talk too much.

April talks about her birthday party out with the band. She wants to ditch Becky for her birthday party no less, but doesn’t do it because of the band dynamic, and actually seeks to avoid having to talk to her. In other words, April’s hatred for Becky has grown so that only her desire to keep the band together is keeping her civil with Becky.

April's Letter, May 2005

Becky's parents are still fighting - she'd like to live someplace far away herself right about now.
I feel bad for Becky, having to live in a tense house every day. Yeah...I'm having trouble staying mad at her again. She's been acting nicer lately anyway.

This sounds better than the prior month, but it's not. This is the first time you get the sense that April now tries to hate Becky independent of whatever it is Becky does. From here on out, no matter how many times Becky and April make up, April will continue to hate Becky. Her hatred has taken on a life of its own.

April's Letter, August 2005

Where do I start? There's so much going on right now that I feel like I'm running away by leaving for the summer. The band hasn't practiced once since graduation; nobody really wants to talk about what happened, so we've been avoiding hanging out in a group.
My guitar lessons are finished for the summer, thank dawg, because I haven't felt like playing for weeks. Every time I pick up my guitar I think about the time when 4 Evah screwed up our big chance in Toronto. I guess I can't blame Becky for not wanting to be our singer if we can't even get it together well enough for a Battle of the Bands show. Everybody says we did ok, but I still beat myself up over it anyway.
I thought I was over that whole thing, but the embarrassment comes flooding back sometimes, and now it feels like it happened just yesterday. I don't know what to think. I'm happy for Becky, because she's had a sucky time lately but the way she told us she was leaving the band was dirty. As if we wouldn't have supported her? As if we wouldn't have understood! Oh well. If she makes it as a singer she'll be able to move away from here and have a better life. Still, the kind of happy I'm feeling is the kind of happy that also feels like you've been kicked in the stomach by an elephant. Or a hippo - something big and dark and heavy.
Duncan and Gerald are mad at Becky too, but mostly because she said we weren't good enough. I give up...it's so much work to keep a band together. Even the Beatles had problems, so what do we think we're trying to do? I just wanted it to be a fun challenge, and it was for two years. We had a rule - no egos! And Becky broke it, big time.

A variety of emotions for April over Becky’s departure from 4Evah at the Grade 8 grad. She blames Becky’s ego and the way she announced she was leaving the band. On the other hand she blames herself for the band not being good enough for Becky. She wants Becky to be successful, but April feels hurt and rejected. At the heart of the matter is that April has had a majour mad on at Becky for months and months and wanted to reject her and stayed together with her only for the sake of the band, but she never imagined that Becky would ever reject her.

When you get right down to it, for the Patterson girls, this is a recurring theme:

1. Treat someone poorly.
2. Don’t talk out or seek a solution to your problems with that person.
3. Be completely shocked when that person rejects you.

4 Comments:

Blogger April Patterson said...

"You can't fire me, I quit!"

Yes, this doesn't paint a very nice picture of April. Thanks for your always-awesome research! :)

As for Elly finding out about Jeffo Bray, I think it's also possible that Elly simply heard Becky and April talking. You just know the Pattermanse walls have Elly ears.

3:52 AM  
Blogger howard said...

There are a variety of ways Elly could have found out about Jeffo Bray, I agree. What I found most interesting was that according to April's letters, Elly actually did something to help Becky, as opposed to standing in judgment.

It is not a very nice picture of April. I was trying to answer the question for myself, how it is that April Patterson, after having made up with Becky so many times, and most recently in the washroom after the Gym Jam, continued to harbour negative feelings for Becky. The strip never satisfactorily answered that question, but the letters paint the picture vividly, and I was honestly surprised at the answer.

6:41 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

I can't help wondering just what the writer[s] of these letters was attempting to do, and whether there was any communication with Lynn about April's character development over the course of these letters. I was thinking about the fact that these letters used to be fleeting--they'd be up for a month, and then the new letters would replace those from the prior month. Essentially, they were disposable. But as you know, in 2004, the letters began to be archived. Did the writer[s] adapt to the fact that these letters were no longer disappearing--that they'd create a cumulative effect?

I'm thinking an alternate exercise that could yield interesting results is to track how the April/Becky trajectory comes across to the strip-only reader. Is there any clue as to where all the April animosity was coming from?

Regarding Elly--good point. Letters Elly was certainly more compassionate to Becky than letters John, with his Becky hate-on.

3:54 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

D'oh--you did the "strip" perspective in the first part of your post. I was just trying to imagine how my impressions of April might be different if I had no knowledge of the letters. ;)

5:28 PM  

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