612 - In your opinion, is Vinny a hero, coward or something else? by

2025-03-20 16:28:25 UTC

I think that Vinny is a hero because in the text, he overcomes Joe-boys pressure on him, and he makes the decision not to jump, he also tells him to stop when Joe-boy teases him which is standing up to someone when they bully you, I know this because in the text it says, "But deep inside, where the peace was, where his wasn't, He would not jump. He would walk back down,", this indicates how deep inside of Vinny he overcomes Joe-boys pressure and decides not to jump, another piece of evidence states, ", 'Hey', Joe-boy went on, 'Maybe you going to be the one to find his body', 'You don't cut it out, Joe-boy, I going... I going...', 'What cry?', Vinny scowled. sometimes Joe-boy was a big fat babooze", This shows how Vinny stands up to Joe-boy when he was teasing him and tries to make him stop talking about the dead boy, and he's the only person to do that in the group.

2025-03-20 16:29:14 UTC

In my opinion, Vinny is something else because in the text it states, "He could so easily lean out and fall, and think or feel nothing." This shows Vinny doesn't think of anything when he is at the ledge and doesn't care anymore. Also, Vinny is not a hero because he doesn't say anything about how it's dangerous and try to save his friends, he just goes along. When the text states, "he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross to a blur" This shows he got to scared and thought it was too risky to jump. Vinny is not a coward. Even though he didn't jump he comes back down feeling calm and doesn't care what his friends think about him now, even though somewhere we know he's anxious, he keeps his cool and just walks back towards his house.

bensonc44 — 2025-03-20 16:31:36 UTC

Vinny is a coward in my opinion because he hesitated to even jump even after multiple times saying to himself Should I jump?. For example it says on paragraph 109,"He struggled to push back an urge to fly, just jump off and fly." This quote showed that he hesitated by struggled to push back so we know he want's to but something in him says don't jump and his friends are probably saying com'on now, he's holding back the fact he should jump. Another quote in paragraph 119 it says,"Don't do it walk away just turn and go and walk back down" but it then says,"I can't" and then it says Vinny waited so the text is trying to tell us that he's deciding if he should do it but he refuses to give up on trying to jump into the pond this connects to the claim by Vinny telling himself he has to jump and him hesitating about it because he keeps think about the body. This shows that he is hesitating and how he is a coward.

2025-03-20 16:32:00 UTC

I think Vinny is a hero because he tried to convince her friends not to jump because she was worried about their safety, and the reason why Vinny is not a coward is because event though he is scared to come he comes to the ravine with his friends anyways due to peer pressure which is a lot of pressure to decide to come or not and he decided to come which makes him brave even though he is scared to jump off 50 Foot ledge which is reasonable because he does not want to risk his life just for fun unlike his other Friends like Joeboy who pressures Vinny the most to jump and, to come to the ravine in the first place joeboy seems to be fearless but that does not make him a hero he pressures people to risk there life's just for a bit of fun for example in the text it states "pleasepleaseplease, Starlene. I don't want to see you die." This Indicates that vinny genuinely cares for her friends and doesn't just come for fun to enjoy the experience like every other person in their friend qroup. Another example is in the text it states Joeboy said, "you are going to jump in the water, and go down, and your hand going to touch his face, stuck under the rocks. Ha ha ha . . . a ha ha ha!" This shows that joe boy is nothing more than a fearless bully because he makes fun of Vinny for being scared. This shows that Vinny is a HERO, And Joe-Boy is nothing more than a fearless Bully.

2025-03-20 16:33:02 UTC

I think Vinny is an uncertain person because he thought about jumping for a long time, and hesitated a lot. The story supports my thinking since in paragraph 33 it says "Reluctantly, he(Vinny) let it(the towel) fall, then dove in after them". This piece of evidence supports my thinking since the word "Reluctantly" indicated that he is hesitant and didn't really want to jump(but he did anyways) Also, the second piece of evidence to support my claim from paragraph 126 is "He had not made up his mind about jumping". This piece of evidence supports my thinking since the evidence DIRECTLY states that he is uncertain if he wants to jump.

2025-03-20 16:33:49 UTC

In my opinion, I think Vinny isn't a hero nor a coward. I think Vinny is a person who knows specifically what feels right or wrong knowing his body and emotions. It is not a good or bad factor, he just chooses what is best for himself. In the text it states, "After a long pause he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross to a blur." This shows that no matter how much Starlene, Mo, and Joe-Boy could try to convince Vinny to jump off the cliff, he wouldn't do it. It was evident to him that it was wrong for him to do it. Vinny knew it would be the wrong choice for himself so he didn't take the risk and did what he thought was right. Another detail states, "They walked out of the ravine in silence, Starlene, Joe-Boy, and Mo far ahead of him. They hadn't said a word since he'd come down off the trail." This shows that even though Vinny's friends were disappointed that Vinny didn't jump off, it would change his opinion of the situation. Starlene, Joe-Boy, and Mo were able to jump off the cliff without any repercussions. Vinny did not have a similar experience. He threw up thinking about jumping off. He could indicate that it was not the correct decision for Vinny. He was not going to risk himself just to make his friends happy. He knew all along that he was going to do what he felt was right for him, he just put it off to the side.

2025-03-20 16:34:29 UTC

i think vinny is something else because he is not scared of doing it he is just afraid that his mom will catch him doing it because in the text it says his mom told him NOT to go there but he still went anyways. one detail is, ¨his mother would kill him if she ever heard about where he´d come.¨i chose this piece of evidence because it is clearly evident that it shows that vinny is thinking about what will happen if his mom found out where he was. Another detail is, ¨ I can't go, my mother won´t like it,¨i chose this claim because this shows that vinny i scared about what his mom will say if she finds out and this also proves that he is a hero nor coward because he is just scared of what his mom will say and hes not only just scared of jumping.

2025-03-20 16:35:11 UTC

i think that Vinny is a acting like any regular person because every normal person knows that jumping off of the same cliff into water that the boy who died doing it is a bad idea because its common sense to not jump off of a cliff especially if its 50 feet tall for instance "he wanted to yell, hey, Starlene, that's were he died" this piece of evidence shows that he was trying to warn Starlene so he could tell her that the place she was about to jump off of was the same place the boy died but he couldn't because he was frozen in place which meant that he was scared because he is acting like a regular person who would be scared also another piece of evidence is " pleasepleaseplease, Starlene. I don't want to see you die" this is another piece of evidence that shows that Vinny is acting like a regular person because no regular person wants to see their own friends die. this shows why Vinny is acting like any regular person.

drishikab — 2025-03-20 16:35:44 UTC

In my opinion, Vinny is just a normal person who wants to have fun and enjoy life, but he is frightened of common things such as disappointing his friends and the rumours of the dead boy. Though he tries to have fun, he has fears like everyone else that holds him back. He does what seems right to him. According to the text, "'Yeah, well . . . ' 'Go to it, big boy. I’ll be watching.' Starlene sank down and swam out into the pond. Ca-ripes...His hands shook as if he were freezing. He wondered, Had the dead boy felt this way? Or had he felt brave, like Starlene or Joe-Boy, or Mo, who seemed to feel nothing...Just a regular kid like himself, come to swim and be with his friends,...Vinny eased down and fingered up some mud and made a cross on his chest, big and bold. He grabbed a leaf, stuck it in his mouth. Be calm, be calm. Don’t look down...After a long pause he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross to a blur." This shows how it is evident that Vinny may be frightened, both of the ravine and disappointing his friends in the fact he didn't want to jump. Yet, this is a factor in showing he is normal. He is terrified and everyone is terrified of at least something, which indicates Vinny is normal. He originally wanted to have fun with his friends, and to ensure he feels okay, he backs out, which is neither a sign of fear or bravery, only his own decision on what felt right to him. Another detail from the text is, "They walked out of the ravine in silence, Starlene, Joe-Boy, and Mo far ahead of him. They hadn’t said a word since he’d come down off the trail. He knew what they were thinking. He knew, he knew, he knew. At the same time the peace was still there. He had no idea what it was. But he prayed it wouldn’t leave him now, prayed it wouldn’t go away, would never go away, because in there, in that place where the peace was, it didn’t matter what they thought. Vinny emerged from the ravine into a brilliance that surprised him. Joe-Boy, Starlene, and Mo were now almost down to the road. Vinny breathed deeply, and looked up and out over the island. He saw, from there, a land that rolled away like honey, easing down a descent of rich Kikuyu grass pasture-land, flowing from there over vast highlands of brown and green, then, finally, falling massively to the coast and flat blue sea. He’d never seen anything like it. Had it always been here? This view of the island?

He stared and stared, then sat, taking it in.

He’d never seen anything so beautiful in all his life." This piece of evidence shows how Vinny is considered some sort of a coward by his friends, as they are taking his decision not in the best way. But Vinny's response to them specifically show how he is normal. He is satisfied with his own thoughts and decision, which he feels peace with what he chose. This is similar to having fun as Vinny is still enjoying himself, even taking in the island view. Vinny is just scared of things like the rest of us, and we wouldn't consider ourselves a hero or coward for that. Vinny also wanted to have fun and enjoy himself, which we also wouldn't consider ourselves a hero or coward for. We would just consider ourselves normal human beings.

2025-03-20 16:35:44 UTC

In my opinion i think that Vinny is a coward.In the text it states"After a long pause he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross to a blur.This shows that he is a coward because even though Vinny on the outside was promising to jump but,deep down inside he really did not want to jump and leave without jumping.The text also states,He was so weak.Couldn't even say no"This indicates that he was scared of saying no and being made fun of for not going.In conclusion these are the reason why Vinny's a coward

2025-03-20 16:35:46 UTC

In my opinion, I think Vinny is a person whose fear protects himself. Vinny's fear is helpful in this situation because it prevented him from doing something that is dangerous and could cause him to die. One detail to support this is paragraph 39-41, it states, "It was the one above it . . . something more like fifty feet up. That was the problem. That was where the boy had jumped from." This shows that the boy who drowned had died from jumping off a ledge that Vinny's friends were about to jump and wanted Vinny to also jump. Vinny's fear of heights prevented him from jumping which would risk his life. Another example is in paragraph 119, it states, "Something inside him, a tiny voice pleading, Don't do it. Walk away. Just turn and go and walk back down." This pleading voice inside of him is probably his fear telling him to not jump and it saved him from risk of death. It's evident that even if he jumped his friends would still tease him for taking so long to jump.

2025-03-20 16:36:49 UTC

In my opinion, Vinny is a hero because he chooses to not let his friends tell him whether or not he should jump off the ridge in the ravine, and decides for himself. For example, In the text it states, " They haven't said a word since He'd come down off the trail. He knew what they were thinking. He knew, he knew, he knew." This quote shows even after knowing what his friends thought of him coming back down, he chose to ignore it and do what he felt like doing, which was not similar to what they wanted and chose to not jump. Another example in paragraph 131, The text states, " After a long pause he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross to a blur. " This quote shows how he finally chooses to not jump after thinking over his choices, indicating that he no longer wants to jump and be like his friends, and does what he wants to do.

2025-03-20 16:36:58 UTC

I think Vinny isn't a hero or a coward, I think he is courageous. He doesn't care for what others think and stands up for himself. In the text it states, "Vinny felt at peace. Completely and totally calm and peace. He had not made up his mind about jumping. But something else had." This indicates a strength inside of him that doesn't care what others think, to make the best decisions for himself. Additionally, the text also states, "deep inside, where the peace was, where his mind wasn't, he would not jump. He would walk back down." This shows how Vinny has the courage to make his own decisions without additional pressure. Furthermore, this shows how Vinny thinks before he acts, risking his life for a thrill.

-Vicky

brianl373 — 2025-03-20 16:37:29 UTC

In my opinion I think Vinny is a coward, because in the story he promised to follow them and jump off the cliff he walked away and didn't keep his promise just because he was too scared to risk his life also Vinny kept changing the subject when Joe-boy talked about the doy that died in the ravine because Vinny was clearly scared in the ravine. For example,""Hey, Vinny, just think, that kid walked where you walking." "shuddup," Vinny said. "You prob'ly stepping right where his foot was." Vinny moved to the edge of the trail." This shows that when Joe-boy mentioned the boy that died Vinny just said shut up because he doesen't want to talk about the dead boy because ot scares him. Another example is,""Joe-boy's an idiot. Sure i'm going to jump."" And ,"After a long pause he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross to a blur." This shows that Vinny's a coward because he promised Starlene he would prove Joe-boy wrong and jump but he decided not to because he was too scared to risk it and jump but even if all of his friends could he still didn't jump because he was to scared. This indicates that Vinny isn't a hero but a coward because he is too scared to do something that his friends proved was possible.

2025-03-20 16:38:54 UTC

vinny in my opinion is not a hero nor a coward yes some might say hes a hero for not jumping but he didnt really help anyone or positively benefit anyone exccept himself he was brave for standing up for himself but bravery is a quality of a hero not what makes it a hero heros are people who will help others and be brave no matter if it has consequences he was brave but he only helped himself i think this would indicate that he is not a hero but nor a coward simalarily joe boy was brave but didnt try to help vinny out of the situation there is 2 factors both of them only had one factor so if im being specific vinny is not a hero or a coward i hope my logic makes this evident.So in conclusion Vinny is brave like Joe boy but not hero if yo say hes a hero then what would he be saving he is not afraid but he didnt try to help mo not to get pressured into jumping he could have warned mo or joe boy but he was scared id say that is what makes him not a hero but not a coward if he tried with his bravery he might become a hero

2025-03-20 16:39:18 UTC

I think Vinny is a coward because he is scare of many thing like getting caught by his mom that he had jump into he ravine. According to the text " And Vinny said, But what if I get caught?. This indicate that he is nervous that his mom might caught him jumping in the ravine because he wasn't supposed to jumped inside because that ravine her mom said that it was haunted. He is coward because he is thinking about alot of thing that might happen if he does jump in to the ravine. Another thing he is a coward because he is scare that if he dosen't jump in to the ravine his friend is going to talk about him that why he is scared to say a no to his friend. According to the text" He was so weak. Couldn't even say no". Which this also show coward because he cares about what other people thik about him.

2025-03-20 16:39:35 UTC

Noah Wang

I think that Vinny is not similar to a hero nor a coward.I think that Vinny is logical.This is because Vinny knew that it was evident that the jump was really dangerous which makes him logical.He did not indicate this to his friends or try to stop them which shows that he is also not a hero.I know this because the text states,"She shouldn't make fun that way,Vinny thought.I was dangerous,disrespectful,it was asking for it."This supports my answer because it shows how Vinny believes that it is very dangerous and disrespectful to jump off the cliff because it was where the boy died.The text also states,"She has no fear,Vinny thought,no fear at all.Pleasepleaseplease,Starlene.I don't want to see you die."This supports my answer because it shows how Vinny does not want Starlene to jump but does not specifically tell her not to.All of these factors show that Vinny is neither a hero or coward but is a logical person.

brandonc848 — 2025-03-20 16:40:44 UTC

In my opinion Vinny is a really apprehensive person because in the text it states "Don’t go there. That pond is haunted.” this indicates that Vinny is really nervous about even being in the same area the place his mom said not to go to and genuinely believes the fact that the pond is haunted and to be more specific that people who go into that area will die. Another detail to help support my claim is "fear, Vinny thought, no fear at all. Pleasepleaseplease, Starlene. I don’t want to see you die." This detail shows another factor for his evident anxiety because it shows that he is really nervous about people jumping off the cliff, but especially the fact that he soon is going to be in a similar situation of the choice to jump or not to jump

2025-03-20 16:41:34 UTC

In my opinion I say Vinny is a real friend,because he makes sure that his friend Starlene is ok, even though he saw Joe-boy and Starlene hug. On paragraph 43 it states "Vinny started to swim out to joe-boy but stopped when he saw starlene put her arms around him." He didn't get jealous or scream at her because he is a real friend, on paragraph 57 it also states "vinny's stomach tingled just watching her... please please please,starlene I don't want to see you die." This shows how Vinny is being such a truthful friend, it's so evident to tell how nice,sweet and great of a friend Vinny is to starlene no matter. what. In my mind I feel like there is some real friends in this world including Vinny,it's nice to have truthful,greatful,kind,sweet friend.

2025-03-20 16:42:33 UTC

I think Vinny is a hero because Vinny saves himself by giving in to his mind and not jumping evident he didn't want to but its like he had to jump but the peace in his mind helped him For example in the text it says "But deep inside where the peace was where his mind wasn't he would not jump" This shows how he found peace from not jumping and gave into his feelings Another example is in the text it says " thoughts and feelings swarmed him stinging him jump jump jump But deep inside where the peace was ...he would not jump " this shows how Vinny made his mind up by not jumping and something took over him that showed its okay not to jump and its like a another person took over saying its okay

2025-03-20 16:42:37 UTC

In my opinion I think Vinny is a coward because it talks about how he is scared of jumping and uses excuses. In the text it states,"Vinny faked laughed.He waved shouting,"Naah,the water's too cold".My analysis is,Vinny in his head Kept on saying That he should just walk away.In the text it states,"And Vinny said,"but what if I get caught ?"My analysis is,Vinny also didn't want to jump because he thought about what would happen if he jumped from that spot and also died.This is What I think about Vinny.

2025-03-20 16:42:55 UTC

I don't think Vinny is a hero or a coward because a coward would be overreacting but Vinny was very calm and at peace, in the text it states ''They walked out of the ravine in silence'' That shows Vinny didn't talk because he was at peace and calm, In the text it states ''Had it always been here? This view of the island? He stared, then sat, taking it in. He'd never seen anything so beautiful in all his life.'' that shows Vinny is at peace looking around admiring the beautiful scenery around him without a care in the world instead of talking to anyone.

2025-03-20 16:44:33 UTC

I think Vinny is a coward because he is afraid of what might happen to him due to the past experiences of other people and he is tense toward new experiences. I think Vinny should be more carefree and enjoy what he can instead of dwelling in the thngs he hears. He should focus on trying to overcome his phobia of heights or he might be afraid all his life. One detail to support my claim from the text, in paragraph 128 is ¨But deep inside, where the peace was, where his mind wasn´t, he would not jump. He would walk back down.¨ This proves that fear is stopping Vinny from experiencing new things. Vinny´s fear makes him think the only possible solution is to not do it becaus he is afraid. Another detail from paragraph 57 is ¨Vinny thought, no fear at all. Pleasepleaseplease, Starlene. I don´t want to see you die.¨ This shows that Vinny is now scared for others and his fear is growing enough for him to be scared for others. Vinny is a coward for not facing his fears and backing out.

2025-03-20 16:44:44 UTC

In my opinion, Vinny was a hero because he thinks like a hero. He over thinks a lot of situations as to what could have possibly happened. Overthinking isn't necessarily good, but he overthinks what could have possibly happened to the dead boy at the ravine. He thinks about possible ideas and some background knowledge from Starlene about the stone goddess. He also disobeyed his mom and went to the ravine anyway even though his mom specifically told him that he couldn't go due to the rumors about the dead boy dying at the ravine. Vinny also climbed the fifteen-foot ledge even though he has a horrible phobia of heights. At that point he wasn't scared, he was literally scared to death. His face and body language was showing evident of fear. Heros are usually known for being brave. But because Vinny disobeyed his mom, who has a big impact on her for his friends, climbed onto the fifteen-foot ledge even though he has a bad phobia of heights and even vomitted which indicates how brave he actually was. Heros also have to come to peace with their own decision so they can help people or fight bad guys, which is similar to how Vinny came to peace with his decision not to jump, factoring to he was happy about his own decision. The text states, "His mother would kill him if she ever heard about where'd he'd come. After the boy drowned, or was taken by the goddess, or whatever happened to him, she said never to come to this pond again. Ever. It was off-limits. Permanently." This piece of evidence shows what Vinny's mom said. She was stern and very specific about what she said. But Vinny STILL had the bravery and went to the ravine anyway. That shows his bravery about going to the ravine anyway. Even though he's afraid of his mom finding out about that he went to the ravine and he knows he will get in trouble. Like the bravery of a hero. The text also states, "At the same time the peace was still there. He had no idea what it was. But he prayed it wouldn't leave him now, prayed it wouldn't go away, would never go away, because in there, in that place where the peace was, it didn't matter what they thought." This piece of evidence shows the peace he has made. He has made his own decision and he's at peace with it. Hero's would also need to have peace with their own decisions because if they aren't, then how do they make choices? Since Vinny is at peace without jumping, he doesn't care. He's happy with his own choice and that's all that matters. Heros also needs to be happy with their own choices in order to make choices for their own buisness. This is why I think that Vinny has the personality/strength of a hero due to his bravery and and choice making. Because remember, at the begining he cared way too much about people's thoughts and now he suddenly doesn't care because of the peace in him.

2025-03-20 16:45:10 UTC

i think vinny is a coward. In the text it states'' Vinny mashed his lips. He was so weak. Couldn't even say no. This shows that he was a coward because it shows that he was so scared to tell joe boy he was scared to go in the ravine. Because he was scared that he was going to get bullied. The text also states.''Vinny faked a laugh. He waved, shouting,''Naah, the water's too cold!'' This quote shows that he is a coward because he is trying not to get in the lake so he is trying to say that it is cold.

2025-03-20 16:46:30 UTC

In my opinion, Vinny is not a hero nor a coward but instead someone who does the right thing because in the story, even though he may seem like a coward for not jumping off the fifty foot ledge, he did the right thing to walk away, since jumping off could kill him, but this doesn't mean he is a hero either since he didn't save anyone but himself. For example in the text it states in paragraph 131 and 133 , "After a long pause he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross to a blur... At the same time the peace was still there." This detail shows that Vinny is someone who always does the right thing because even though he didn't jump, he wasn't a coward since though he was scared, he did the right thing to save his life. Another example is that in the text it states in paragraph 132 , " They walked out of the ravine in silence, Starlene, Joe-Boy, and Mo fear ahead of him. They hadn't said a word since he'd come down off the trail." This shows that Vinny isn't a hero since he only stopped himself from jumping off and his friends still jumped but still did the right thing to not jump.