Because of Mr. Terupt

Each student experiences blame in some way, whether it’s in the form of blaming someone else, placing blame on themselves, or being the subject of someone else’s blame. Anna blames herself for her mother’s ostracism. At age 11, Anna doesn’t have a full understanding of the complicated social stigma of a teen parent, so she assumes she herself is to blame for her mother’s situation and the social backlash her mother experiences. 

While Anna blames herself for an adult situation she has no control over, Luke and Jessica are the opposite in that they seek to place blame on authority figures rather than admit personal responsibility and experience the guilt that accompanies it. Both Luke and Jessica consider the possibility of blaming Mr. Terupt for the accident, their logic being that it is Mr. Terupt’s responsibility as the adult to keep things under control. Jessica even considers the possibility of Mrs. Williams being at fault for having given special permission for the snow day. Jessica is open to hearing her mother explain how the accident is Mr. Terupt’s fault: “He let you play rough that day in the snow and hoped you wouldn’t cross the line—but he made it your responsibility not to cross that line because he didn’t intervene” (239).