The Upper East Side is sometimes known for changing or making people behave a certain way. Analyze and carefully discuss how this environment has affected Vanessa Abrams.

                                                                                                                    Constance High School

In the book, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar, Vanessa is affected by the Upper East Side because she is basing her decisions and actions on her own selfish desires. She is also beginning to manipulate situations in order to get her way. Vanessa is a Brooklyn girl living in a luxurious world. She symbolizes an outsider. She dresses, talks, looks, and acts differently than the other girls, such as Blair and Serena. She is very involved in her video class at Constance High School and she is working on a new project. While she is working on her project, she chooses Dan, a boy from the all boys school, St. Judes, to be the leading man in her play. Vanessa begins to have very strong feelings for Dan, which comes into play later. She sets up auditions to find a girl who can play the the role of Dan's lover. One of the girls who comes to audition is Serena van der Woodsen. It becomes obvious that Serena is the perfect fit for this role; however, Vanessa lets her feelings get in the way of picking Serena. She decides to choose another girl for the part even though both Dan and she believe that Serena deserved it the most. Dan, confused about this final decision, questions Vanessa about it. Vanessa then begins to make up excuses about her decisions by talking about Serena in a very negative way. She starts to tell Dan every single bad story she has heard about Serena, whether she knows them to be true or not. Dan starts to analyze the situation and begins to wonder why Vanessa didn't choose Serena and wonders why "Vanessa, queen of the alterna-rebel scene, had actually stooped to spreading rumors about a girl she barely knew. Maybe Constance was finally rubbing off on her" (111).  Vanessa has gone from ignoring the Upper East Side drama to allowing it to control her decision-making process. She wants Dan all to herself and when Serena comes around she gets concerned and extremely jealous. She is worried that Dan will fall for Serena and not her. Her way to stop this from happening is by giving the main lead in the play to another girl who does not deserve it. Vanessa has always been known as a hard working girl who puts her education and work before anything else and these actions are very unlike her.  This makes Dan suspicious of what is truly going on. Vanessa is normally the girl who does not pay attention to any stupid rumors and now she is using them as excuses! The Upper East side can be a very dangerous place for young teens. The majority of the teens put themselves before any one else and they are vindictive towards each other. It is a difficult environment to grow up because kids are constantly feeling judged and pressured to be perfect. Vanessa, surprisingly, is just another kid letting the worst of the Upper East Side get to her. Letting the worst aspects of being in the Upper East side take over the best qualities of who she truly is.

Vanessa Abrams