Trying To Impress

     In Crank by Ellen Hopkins, teenager Kristina (Bree) meets her father for the first time. At first, her father seems like he cares a lot about what Kristina thinks of him. But towards the middle, he begins to openly tells Kristina about the darker parts of his life. Through Kristina's father, it's shown that sometimes, people stop caring about their impact on others.

     At the beginning of the story, Kristina's father tries to hide his bad habits from Kristina. For example, when he picks her up from the airport and starts smoking in the car he says, "Quit Once." I think by telling her this he's trying impress her in sort of way. He wants his child to think that her father actually tried his best to prevent having to smoke. He's making an excuse for her to not judge him for smoking. He also tries to make his house seem better than it is. He says, "Welcome to my castle." He's trying to make light of his home so Kristina won't judge him. He tries to be humorous to distract Kristina from her expectations. He knows that Kristina thought she was coming to a decent man, and he tries to make it seem like he is who she expected him to be.

     Then, he begins to expose his darker addictions. He admits to Kristina, "Been smokin' pot since I was 13, couldn't quit if I tried." He no longer even cares about how his own daughter sees him. He not only shows Kristina that he isn't the father she thought he was, but also crushes Kristina's hope of him ever changing. She knows now that he will never become the father she expected from him. Kristina then sees her father openly be irresponsible. For example, she says, "As I watched, one thing became obvious. Where the party went, my dad followed." This shows that by observing her dad, she cares about who he is. It also shows how her dad is exposing her to who is really is. He stays with his group because he actually doesn't care about Kristina's well-being. He only cares about how he appears to her.

     Overall, Kristina's fathers shows readers that sometimes, people don't care about each other, they only care about what they think of each other. By at first trying to impress Kristina but the giving up, her father represents how impressions aren't made at first metting, but over time and knowledge.