My black-out poem: My brother unraveled an entire roll of Scotch tape and stuck it on my head. I was outraged. He try to get it off, I yowled. My search of justice was the case of a lifetime. The evidence was stuck to my head. I burst into the room screaming, I realized I was talking to my father and he was not concerned with sibling shenanigans. I felt disoriented. I tell my father. His anger came here, I didn’t want to explain. I got out and heard the door slam behind me. There was no justice. My brother hadn’t been punished, I picked up his baseball trophies, wrested the little gold-plated athlete off its mount. My brother would want to tell Pop about it.

In the short story My Side of the Story by Adam Bagadasarian, the narrator is very angry with his older brother for treating him unfairly and putting scotch tape on his head. He then went shouting and burst into his mother’s room, but his father was sitting there. From this part, we know that he usually just calls his mom to help him solve the conflict between him and his older brother Skip, and this is what people do know in their family when they have conflicts with their siblings. The narrator stands there for a few seconds. He feels guilty because he knows his father’s characteristics exactly well and explains it to the reader, revealing his own guilt, fear, and embarrassment about telling his father what happened. For instance, on the third page, the author uses phrases like “nothing” and “I didn’t” to show that he is reluctant to reveal the details to his father. The narrator frequently faces unfair situations at home and anticipates his father’s reaction. According to the number nine paragraph, “Generally, I did something by accident, then my brother did something back, and I did something back, and on and on until it was impossible to tell who was at fault. But this—this was the case of a lifetime. “From this part of the story, we know that these kinds of conflicts and the unfairness in his family happen a lot and he is already used to it. The events unfold quickly, and the author uses questions and the narrator’s confusion about why his brother wasn’t punished to illustrate the shifting conflict. The conflict evolves from sibling rivalry to a father-son struggle. The author’s attitude shifts from anger at his brother to a desire to confide in his mother, and finally to fear of being punished by his father, who does not understand the emotional struggles of his children. The conflict in the story is external, as it involves interactions between multiple people, specifically human versus human. I don’t think Skip is behaving like a responsible older brother. First, a fourteen-year-old typically wouldn’t engage in childish behavior like putting scotch tape on his younger brother’s head. Second, in most families, older siblings are expected to care for their younger siblings, not mistreat them. In my family, for example, older children are supposed to look after their younger siblings and refrain from engaging in antics like Skip’s. “Growing up” involves not just  physical development but also emotional maturity and mental growth. An adult gains a better understanding of oneself and others, hands emotions more effectively and takes one greater responsibilities.