Jumped seems like it's a cautionary tale about violence in schools, but it's really a novel about the choices the characters make. Probably one of the most obvious choices is Leticia's decision to tell or not to tell Trina about Dominique's threat. But really, each choice that a character makes—and the options that a character considers—reveals a little more to us about who they are.
Trina doesn't have to stomp with the Boosters, for instance, but she makes that choice to try to get in with the popular group. And even little choices that the characters make help us gain a fuller picture of them, like Leticia's decision to not open her mail… which gets her the resulting zero hour class and lands her in French.
Unfortunately, most of the characters don't understand the full range of the choices they can make. Dominique doesn't have to jump Trina, but she feels like she does, while Bea tries to get Leticia to tell Trina about the threat, but never calls the school administration herself when Leticia refuses to. It's the choices that people make that ultimately lead to the attack, and while we hope that the characters will learn to make better choices, they don't, and that's a big part of what Jumped is really about.
Questions About Choices
- Whose choices in Jumped are the most destructive, and what makes you say this?
- How responsible are the teachers for Trina's injuries based on the choices they make—Coach not bending her rules, Hershheiser not willing to talk to Dominique?
- Why don't the characters learn from the decisions they've made?
- How do the characters' choices affect the larger community of the school?
Chew on This
Leticia's choice not to tell Trina about Dominique's intent is entirely justified.
Dominique had no other option than to jump Trina after school.