The Body _ Personal Essay
 The Body, written by Stephen King, is about four boys, Chris, Gourdie, Vern, and Teddy,  that go to look for a young boyâs dead body.  They take this long journey and even grow up on the way.  This book shows us how our friends help can help us mature and become good people.  Friends donât make us mature just like that, but itâs their actions and feelings that teach us how the world actually works and teaches us compassion.  The book The Body really teaches us that. Â
 The first relationship we are going to look at is Chris and Gordieâs.  We are looking at theirs first because they have the most important relationship of them all.  They teach each other compassion, and the ability to look out for one another.  My first example is when Gordieâs dad makes mention about how Gordie should have better friends like his brother, and not have 1 thief and 2 feebs (Pg.309), Gordie stands up for Chris.  In paragraph 3 on page 309, Gordie is ready to stick up for Chris to his father, growing red with anger.  He does this even though he, Gordie, doesnât know the whole truth about the milk money.This shows maturation because he had full trust in his friend and was willing to back him up.  He also stood up to his father when Chris wasnât even around to know, thus showing his loyalty to Chris.  My next point is about when the boys were having a heart to heart, and Gordie knows that he needs to listen and not make a joke out of it.  Just after Teddy tries dodging the train, the boys, Gordie and Chris, reminisce about the time Chris saved Teddy from falling down a tree, and saved Teddyâs life.  But then Chris opens up and tells Gordie about his dreams of not being able to save Teddy.  Gordie listens to him and gives Chris the mental support he needed at that time.  Gordie could have laughed about it and called Chris some not so child friendly words, but instead he handled it like an adult.  My last point is that not only does Gordie give Chris the confidence he needs, but itâs also the other way around.  On page 379, Chris helps Gordieâs self- esteem when he makes Gordie feel better about his stories.  Knowing when to give the right words to someone at the right time comes with wisdom and responsibility.  These 2 boys have each otherâs back and are maturing and building a responsibility for one another, that friends help us mature.
Another relationship that shows the boys growing in responsibility is Chris and Teddyâs.  Chris is always looking out for Teddy, and contemplates what could happen to his friend if he, Chris, did just did one thing differently.  Even though the event is now over and done with, Chrisâs nightmares tell us that he is scared that anything could happen to his friends, it matters to him so much that it haunts him while heâs sleeping.  We see how much these boys care for each other on page 333, where we are in the scene when Teddy goes train dodging.  Chris jumps on the train track, in front of a moving train, willing to get hurt or risk his life, to save a friend he knew would fight him off.  This shows that Chris is willing to get hurt and/or risk his life for a friend.   The last point is seen on page 351,  where the boys are walking away from the junkyard and Teddy is upset because Milo makes fun of his father.  Chris was the only one who could help.  On page 352 Gordie says, âHe was the toughest guy in our gang⌠but he was also the guy who made the best peace.â  This shows that Chris is mature enough to think of other peopleâs feelings, and be able to talk them down from a, mentally, dangerous situation.  Chris has everyoneâs backs, and is mature enough to know that just talking is enough to calm someone down.
 All together the boys help each other mature by being there when needed, pushing them when they need a push, and saving their butts.  The boys have always been there for each other in a social aspect also.  There are examples all over the book, but the first one that comes to mind is when Gordie is trying to encourage Chris to go to college, this is seen on page 383 when Gordie asks Chris why he doesnât want to go to college.  Gordie not only tried to encourage Chris to go to college, but listened to Chris telling him about what really happened to the milk money.  When Gordie and Vern were the last ones on the railway tracks when the train was heading for them is also a good example of their social communication.  On page 361 Gordie yells at Vern to run, and run faster.  This shows that when Vern needed that little extra push to going and not get hit by the train, Gordie was there, pushing him, when I probably would of high tailed it out of there. At the end of the book when Ace finds the boys, Vern and Teddy both run for the trees, but when Chris asked Gordie to stay, he does.  This situation was hard for both boys no doubt, but upon being asked by Chris, Gordie puts himself in a life threatening position.  This act shows how loyal these two boys are to one another, staying by the otherâs side, even when you have no idea what the outcome is going to be.  All through this book the boys are always doing things for each other displaying responsibility, a big part in maturation.
Friends themselves donât make us mature, itâs their actions and how we respond to those actions is what makes us mature.  I know that The Body by Stephen King shows us just that.  Throughout this book we constantly see these boys taking responsibility for one another.  They also learn compassion, when and how to speak to an upset friend, and taking responsibility for one another. These  are all signs of maturation.  To me all of these boys were forced to grow up way too fast.  They were forced to become a family because their families were not doing their jobs properly. The boys were thrown into the world learning all of these great qualities from one another, and if they had the wrong type of friends, then they could have turned out a lot differently.  Who knows? Maybe Chris would have turned out like his brother, or father.  Maybe Gordie could have gone into a severe depression and/or killed himself.  This book showed me the importance of having good friends.
