Going Bovine

Acrostic (spoiler)

Life is something that we take for granted far too often, and that's how Cameron had spent his whole life. After learning that he was dying, he took a journey to find the cure. Along the way he came to a wishing tree and he made a wish. After learning that his whole journey wasn't even real, it was all in his head, we at last learn what he wished for. Four simple words that were possibly the most important words in the book. "I wish to live" (467). Although he died shortly after this, he got his wish. For two weeks, for the first time in his life, Cameron lived.

In the hospital, before he begins his journey, Cameron has an encounter with a midget named Gonzo. Gonzo is constantly worried about anything and everything. He is constantly afraid that something could kill him. Gonzo's worrying comes from the place in Cameron's mind that is deathly afraid of his fate. It's the part of him that is holding him back, but that he needs to stay sane.

Very early in the book, Cameron has his first encounter with the "fire giants." They keep returning throughout the book, along with their leader, the Wizard of Reckoning. He doesn't know who the wizard is under all his armor, but he knows that he's the one who's trying to kill him. It's like his disease eating away, and sometimes it becomes too much for Cameron. In the end, the wizard sheds his armor and Cameron finds himself staring at... well, himself. All along, it was him that was chasing him. He had become his disease and there really was no hope left on this Earth.

In the earlier stages of his journey, Cameron hits a snag when he misses the bus that was supposed to take he and Gonzo to Florida. He begins to feel worse, when he meets the CESSNAB crusaders. They go to a school/ church/ bowling alley where everyone is required to always be happy. They've eliminated anything that could "hurt your happiness." Here Cameron feels like he could give up and stay forever, being happy all the time and never really caring about anything. He is in a place similar to Pi when he found the green island. It seems perfect where he is, but it takes one of CESSNAB's very own to show him the cracks in their seemingly perfect exterior. When he is pulled back to reality, Cameron realizes that he can't stay here and that he has to complete his mission and find a cure.

Not long after his time at CESSNAB, Cameron meets Balder, a viking god trapped in the form of a yard gnome. Balder is invincible and can't be harmed by anything anyone tries to hurt him with. Balder's invincibility mirrors Cameron's fierce will to live. Once he's sure of his mission, he knows he's unstoppable, or so he thought. Towards the very end of the book, Balder is killed by the one thing that can hurt him: mistletoe. When Balder dies, it's all downhill for Cameron. He suddenly finds himself being pursued until at last he meets the Wizard of Reckoning. Before you know it, it's all over.

Going back to earlier in the book, Cameron talks to an old lady while he's still in the hospital. She tells him about how she doesn't want to die there. She says she would rather die in a house by the sea. Cameron thinks about her at different instances throughout the book, and at one point, he is transported to her house by the sea. This does represent Cameron's giving up and allowing death to come, but it is different from what happened at CESSNAB. There he was feeling down about his whole mission, and he found that he would find some satisfaction, but it didn't last. The old lady was present throughout the book, and she represented the part of Cameron, however small, that wanted almost wanted to die. This part of him wanted to just accept his fate and let go.