The Gallery by Andrew Marvell by Matthew Charette

'The Gallery by Andrew Marvell' by Matthew CharetteIn his wonderful first book, The Gallery by Andrew Marvell, Matt Charette demonstrates how a teenager's imagination can help shape the course of his life. Deciding what to draw, what to build, and what to do in school can be incredibly confusing for a child. Often, an imaginative child will be forced to give up some projects because the consequences seem beyond his understanding.In this collection of short stories, 'The Gallery' comes from his work titled Imaginary Surroundings. A young boy in a wheelchair learns that the worst thing a person can do is to give up something they want. This lesson alone is difficult for most people, but it illustrates why one must be open to a child's unique view of the world.When I first read the book, I was reminded of an excerpt from a story called 'Mean Tweets,' where the young protagonist teaches his friends a valuable lesson. As a teacher, I always teach that the only thing you should ever say in class is the best lesson you can teach. The point of this particular short story, however, is that the lessons you say in class, the things you say, are less important than the quality of your example.Matt Charette gives us a great example of his writing in the second chapter. His students have planned a 'Ladies Night' party at school, and Charette writes about a boy getting ready to get his letterman jacket ready for the big day. Unfortunately, his letterman jacket is not fitting him as well as he would like. When he goes home, he goes straight to his closet and finds a white tailored suit that fits him perfectly.This is a good example of the caliber of writing that one can find in The Gallery by Andrew Marvell. The White Suit follows two different stories. One is about the relationship between an imaginary boyfriend named Sam and a real boy named Jake. It also follows a kid named Jack who has the ability to use a white sheet to make his dreams come true.After they have gone on a date with another boy, Sam brings Jack along to their planned party. Jack's mother, though, wants nothing to do with her son. Sam then tells the story of how his white suit helped Jack in a dream he had the night before. She decides to go with her son on the date. On their way to the party, Sam gets Jack involved in a conspiracy involving a white tailor jacket that gets stolen and transported to France, where it becomes an icon for the War.Jack is thrilled with the white jacket, and when the truth is revealed, he goes over his mother's head to get the jacket back. The story ends with the man, whose face is invisible when he's wearing the jacket, revealing his identity. He explains that it will be easier for him to re-form him if he has a white shirt. As it turns out, Jack does get the white jacket from this boy and returns it to its rightful owner.The white outfit was important to Jake, and not just to him. The story, more than anything else, reminds us of why education is so import ant. One can never understand life unless one understands that a person's history can never be understood without looking into their future. In the world of Andrew Marvell, childhood education can also be a form of therapy.