Big Nate: In a Class by Himself

Nate’s struggles with focus and impulse control negatively impact most areas of his life. In every other class, Nate attempts to focus on the lesson, though he frequently gets distracted. Social studies class is the exception, as Nate does not even try to pay attention. Rather, Nate goes off on a tangent about how to properly nickname teachers. He even brings out his list of nicknames in the middle of class, a truly thoughtless act. Nate is ultimately responsible for his actions, but it feels unfair that a student who struggles so much with initiating and maintaining attention has no supports in place to help him manage. Once again, Nate is placed in a situation where he does not have the skill set to succeed and is punished for his inevitable failure. When Nate gets in trouble, Mrs. Godfrey makes a point to accuse him of “insolence,” which she most likely knows is an unfamiliar word to him. When Nate asks what it means, Mrs. Godfrey further embarrasses him by dropping a dictionary on his desk. She could have dealt with Nate’s behavior in several ways, but this way seems unnecessarily rude. Though Mrs. Godfrey is justifiably angry with Nate, her behavior is no more mature than Nate’s. Again, the adult who should support Nate lets him down.

Ms. Clarke is also completely unsupportive. First, she tells the class they can write any style poetry about any topic, as long as it is not junk food. There is no need to call Nate out in that manner. He completed his previous assignments correctly, so his poetry topic should not matter. Second, Ms. Clarke is conspicuously absent when Gina is bullying Nate. However, the minute Nate rips up his poem, she appears. While Nate is admittedly not a good student, Mrs. Godfrey and Ms. Clarke are overly attentive to Nate’s actions while ignoring the misbehavior of other students. Nate’s behavior, though inappropriate, was a reaction to Gina’s bullying. While Nate certainly deserves detention, Ms. Clarke writes him up without allowing him to explain himself. She does not even ask what triggered that outburst. Gina is bullying Nate, and no adults seem to notice or care.

Nate’s poetry writing experience highlights the theme of Experience Versus Reality. When writing a love poem is suggested, Nate has high hopes that his words will inspire Jenny to fall for him. When Gina tells Jenny (and the whole class) that Nate is writing a love poem, Nate’s frustration leads him to tear up the poem without Jenny ever seeing it. His expectation of catching Jenny’s heart ends in the reality of an insulted student, an angry teacher, and another detention for Nate, while Jenny remains none the wiser about his feelings for her.

This section also introduces Artur, Nate’s frenemy. Artur is a side character, but he also represents the person Nate believes himself to be, again foregrounding the theme of Experience Versus Reality. In Nate’s mind, he is just as talented, funny, and kind as Artur, if not more so, but the reality is somewhat different. Though Nate and Artur engage in many of the same activities, Artur is more talented in each one. Artur forces Nate to acknowledge reality rather than the rose-colored version Nate usually sees. Nate must recognize that Artur has qualities Nate lacks, if only because he is dating Jenny. Though Nate’s relentless positivity blinds him to the specific ways Artur surpasses Nate, Nate is forced to accept that others prefer Artur to him. This is generally used for comedic effect as it highlights Nate’s complete lack of self-awareness.