Gordie Jessup: Character Analysis
About 42.7% of teenagers between grades eight and twelve admit to using illicit drugs. In Katherine Holubitsky's Tweaked, Gordie Jessup is not one of them. In
this novel, it is Gordie's older brother Chase who is addicted to drugs; crystal meth, to be more specific. Chase lies and steals from both Gordie and his parents and
Chase, while tweaking, attacks a man named Richard Cross. When drug dealers are after Chase, Gordie gives Chase money to pay them off. Money that instead goes
to drugs when Chase runs off. After being in a coma, Richard Cross dies and Chase is wanted for murder. The police search intensifies and Gordie finds out his
mother has been giving Chase money. When Gordie is watching the news he sees Chase in a car chase with the police. The reporter reveals that Chase went into
cardiac arrest while he was being arrested and is in critical condition. A little while later, Chase dies. Chase's choices were very different from Gordie's, despite
being raised the same way. Gordie would not turn out like Chase because he is loyal, considerate, and mature.
Gordie is loyal so he wouldn't be able to take advantage of his family like Chase did. When Chase takes off after Gordie tried to pay off Chase's debt, Gordie looks
for Chase on the city streets. "It's after midnight when I leave Jade's apartment, but I can't go home, not without looking for Chase first." (88) Gordie feels an
obligation to search for his brother, even after Chase takes Gordie's money to buy drugs and runs away. Being committed and faithful in your support for a person is
being loyal, and that's what Gordie demonstrates. Another time Gordie expresses loyalty is when he chooses to pay off Chase's drug debt. "I am not going to give him
a definite yes. I want to make him grovel for a while." (42) Here, Gordie shows loyalty not to Chase, but to his family, which becomes apparent a few lines before.
"But if I am doing this for anyone, it's for me and Mom and Dad." (42) If Gordie said no, Chase would have gone to his parents for the money. His parents would have
tried their hardest to squeeze together the money, causing extra stress on an already fragile family. Gordie agrees to pay Chase's debt because he is loyal to
keeping the family together. Gordie's loyalty would make it near impossible for him to take advantage of his family.
Gordie is considerate, so he would never be able to hurt people like Chase did. Gordie went to see Chase one last time while Chase was in the hospital. "When I
do visit Chase, it's on the morning of the third day that he's in the hospital." (173) The fact that Gordie went to the hospital, even after everything Chase has done,
shows that Gordie cares about Chase's well being. To be considerate means to be concerned about the well being of others, and Gordie obviously cares about
other people. At the end of chapter six, Gordie sees an addict named Ryan before he goes to rehab. "He'll [Ryan] continue to use as though he's invincible. Still,
can't hurt to say it. 'Good luck, Ryan.'" (74) Gordie says good luck to Ryan even though he doesn't think Ryan will stop using drugs because he wants Ryan to feel
better, to have that hope, so that just maybe Ryan will have the strength to get through rehab and stop using. If Gordie wasn't considerate, if he didn't care about
Ryan's well being, Gordie wouldn't have bothered saying anything.
Gordie is mature so he never would have turned to drugs like Chase did. Ralph, the owner of the hardware store Gordie works at, left Gordie in charge for the
day. "Ralph has taken the entire day off, leaving me in charge like he's been training me to do..." (155) This shows that Gordie is mature, he can handle
responsibility, and other people can see it. Gordie has a life, people trust him, and Gordie wouldn't trade that for anything, especially drugs. After Chase dies,
Gordie allows Ms. Larson to help him work through his feelings. "Once in a while, I drop into Ms. Larson's office...I told her about what happened in the hardware
store that day..." (177) Gordie was mature enough to know that he needed help. Instead of turning to drugs or alcohol, Gordie did the mature thing and allowed
somebody to help him.
Loyalty is a trait Gordie shows when he goes searching for Chase after Chase steals his money. Gordie shows he is considerate when he goes to visit Chase in the
hospital. Even after Chase tore his family apart, Gordie is still concerned about Chase. When Gordie allows Ms. Larson to help him work through Chase's death,
Gordie demonstrates maturity. Because Gordie is loyal and considerate, he would find it incredibly difficult to betray his family like Chase did. Gordie would be too
worried about hurting his family to steal and lie to them. Because Gordie is mature, he would never turn to drugs. In short, Gordie's personality prevents him from
turning out like Chase.
