Jesse

Jesse is a teenager who has gotten himself twisted in drugs and alcohol. But was it really his fault?

His parents neglected him and he had nothing left to turn to. Sara, caring only for Kate, failed to pay attention to Jesse. I'm not saying Anna gets as much attention as Kate, however she still gets more attention that Jesse. Even if it is negative attention. For example, Anna has to be at the hospital with Kate and Sara while Jesse has to stay home or at a neighbor's house. For Christmas Eve Jesse was stuck at a neighbors house while Kate was in the hospital. He even decided to cut down a spruce tree since that was the plan before sudden medical problems errupted. Even when he did this no one mentioned one thing about the tree that was decorated and set up nicely when the Fitzgeralds had gotten back from the hospital. Wouldn't the family have noticed if a mysterious tree ended up in their house? At some point they would have had to take it down so they must have noticed it. They didn't even appreciate it. As kids, presents are the first thing they think about on Christmas morning. Every year Jesse would know that his gifts would be cheap and no thought was put in to purchasing them because the majority of his parents' and sisters' time was spent at the hospital.

I don't blame Jesse for moving out of the house. Why should he have to be with people who could care less about what he does? At dinner, he came in smelling like smoke his eyes bloodshot and all his mother could care about was if the dinner was undercooked.

Jesse's parents let him do whatever he wants. Drugs and alcohol are the least of their worries. Therefore, there's no issue if Jesse is the arsonist? He never learned better, although he should know. The reason he even wanted to burn down buildings was to get attention and to smite his parents. His dad was a firefighter and he set fire to buildings. You'd think his parents would care more where he was and who he was with.