The Crossover by Kwame Alexander narrates the twins Josh and Jordan are two tennagers who have a extremely passion on basketball, their dad is former NBA retired athlete and recovering from injuries at home. Throughout the Novel, Josh and Jordan played 8 games for total including the preseason and the playoffs. During the season, Jordan gradually showed his talent on basketball and slowly surpassed Josh. Jordan falling love with a girl as well, Jordan’s various of fortunate empower the jealous emotion of Josh to him. The relationship between the two brothers becomes increasingly cold until the day of the finals, when Josh was celebrate for the champion they got, at the meantime, his dad died by a heart attack, after the dad’s death, Josh suddenly understand that the relationship between him and Jordan is priceless compare to basketball and girls. At the end of the story, Josh reconciles with Jordan' and becomes more mature, realizing how foolish his previous jealousy was.
The death of a family member absolutely make people depress and agony, but being mature at the same time, this tragedy will happen to everyone, and it will change a person greatly. This change may be positive or negative. Some people will fall because of the death of their family members, while others will change themselves and become more mature to take on the responsibility of the family. "But you have to keep going. You have to keep living, even when you want to give up. It’s what Dad would have wanted." This quote highlights the death of dad is a turning point that made Josh realize his problem of being careless about his family member, even hate Jordan and started to change himself to mature. People always change People always change after the death of a family member because they want to fulfill the expectations and wishes that the deceased family member had for them during their lifetime.
Sadness and Sorrow always happen to people when they meet a memorable struggle or dilemma through people’s life. This kind of conflict often causes people to become confused, at a loss and fall into a trough. But when individuals overcome the trouble. they will find that they have broken through the bottleneck period. "I thought I had lost everything, but then I realized I hadn't lost everything. My dad taught me how to play basketball, but more than that, he taught me how to live, how to love, how to be a man. And I know he's still with me, in my heart, in the game, in the way I play. That's the part of him that will never go away." This example demonstrate that Josh and Jordan overcame the sadness and sorrow emotion by recalling what his father taught him, especially the wisdom of basketball and life, They gradually healed Their inner pain and found his motivation to move forward which shows how they turned the negative emotion to energy. Removing difficulties is the best way to relieve sadness.
When there are two boys of the same age in a family, there will usually have some family issues. Because what two boys like most is competition when they have common hobbies, and it is often such competition that causes conflicts to gradually expand. But in the end, they will find that no competition can compare with the value of your family. Throughout the story, Dad attaches great importance to their basketball skills, so Josh and Jordan don't want to live up to their dad's expectations. They gradually start to compete, but Jordan's skills are always superior. When Jordan found a girlfriend, Josh began to feel jealous. Their conflicts grew until their father's death caused the two of them to fall into pain and grow, and finally reconciled. Their relationships line is intimate, competition, jealous, sadness, and recocliation which shows that the death of their father was a key point in the change in the relationship between the two brothers.They are forced to face life without their father. This transition forces them to re-examine their roles in the family and their relationships with each other. Regardless of any family conflicts, in the end people realize how precious family is and cherish each other.
In conclusion, The Crossover explores important themes like death, sorrow, and family problems, especially through the relationship between the two brothers, Josh and Jordan. The book shows how the death of their mother affects their family, causing deep pain and emotional struggles. Josh experiences a lot of sorrow and sadness, both from the loss of his mother and from the growing distance between him and his brother. The arguments and competition between Josh and Jordan show how difficult it can be for families to stay close during tough times. Through these struggles, The Crossover tells a powerful story about growing up, facing loss, and learning to understand one another, even when things feel impossible. The brothers' journey reminds us that, despite the challenges, healing and understanding are possible with time and effort.
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