58 pages • 1 hour read
Gordon KormanLevel 13
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Expectations, Perceptions, and Reality
The interplay between expectations, perceptions, and reality in Level 13 forms a central theme that drives character development and narrative tension. Throughout the novel, characters grapple with their expectations of themselves and others, their perceptions based on these expectations, and the stark realities that challenge or confirm these perceptions.
One of the primary explorations of this theme revolves around protagonist Cam and his role within the Positive Action Group (P.A.G.). Initially revered by his peers for his leadership and influence within the group, Cam embodies the expectations of a successful and respected figure. His peers idolize Cam for his contributions to the P.A.G. and his ability to inspire cooperation over competition. Even Mr. Fanshaw recognizes that “[Cam] was the greatest student leader I'd ever worked with” (88). Most characters believe Cam to be the epitome of student leadership; Kelly Hannity believes that Cam is “the hero who created the P.A.G. and transformed the whole town” (76). She compliments his “dignity” and “character.”
In reality, the characters exhibit the “halo effect,” where positive impressions in one area influence overall opinions or feelings toward a person. They see the P.A.G. positively, which leads them to connect Cam, its president, with all the good qualities they attribute to the P.A.G. The real Cam, however, is a slacker who shirks his P.A.G. duties to play video games. Though Cam behaves morally at the story's conclusion, the author does not depict him as an admirable character for most of the novel. For this reason, Cam does not meet the paggers’ positive perception of him.
Conversely, Cam struggles with the expectations placed upon him, both by others and by his ambition as a streamer. Cam aims to find a career that pays him to play video games all day. Throughout the novel, Cam waxes poetic about his “lifestyle.” For example, his biggest problem with Mr. Fanshaw is that he interrupts Cam's lifestyle, expecting him to meet his responsibilities as a student and club leader. However, Cam becomes so obsessed with his stream and followers that he fails to realize that streaming is not the lifestyle he wants. He becomes focused on meeting his followers' expectations and maintaining an upbeat persona for his stream, regardless of his mental or physical health. Likewise, Cam feels enormous pressure to please his fans by reaching Level 13 in Guardians, an impossible feat for him.
Rather than having fun gaming, “streaming had taken [Cam’s] favorite thing—gaming—and turned it into a chore, a responsibility, a misery, and a source of stress and exhaustion” (225). Cam expects that streaming will create an opportunity to get paid for playing video games, and it does. However, Cam drastically underestimates the amount of work that goes into streaming, causing his expectations to fall short of reality.
The video games themselves also fail to meet the characters' expectations. When Cam discovers he has the original version of Guardians of Geldorf, he and the rest of the Awesome Threesome question the inappropriate content that got the game banned. Their fantasies of violence and gore are dashed when they find the game was banned for copyright infringement. Similarly, Cam approaches the notoriously difficult level 12 through brute force, failing repeatedly. Cam perceives that he is not skilled enough to pass the level, but the reality is that he needs to change his perception of the game. Rather than fighting through enemies, level 12 required players to trick them. Cam's failure to pass level 12 due to his narrow perception mirrors other conflicts throughout the novel.
Level 13 illustrates how expectations shape perceptions and how reality often defies these expectations. Through the characters’ evolving relationships and moral dilemmas, the novel encourages reflection on the complexities of human nature and the dynamics of personal and social expectations in shaping lives.
The Importance of Community, Collaboration, and Friendship
Korman uses Level 13 to examine The Importance of Community, Collaboration, and Friendship, particularly the attitudes and behaviors that cause communities to break down. Through this examination, Korman highlights the stark differences between an online community and a community in the real world.
While Slacker focuses on creating communities, Level 13 shows how communities break down and how to rebuild them. The story begins with the established community of the P.A.G. further fostering community and belonging at a party. As usual, Cam avoids the party to spend more time gaming, illustrating that selfishness can erode one’s community ties. Even as Jordan and Cam walk together to the party, Jordan tells Cam how the P.A.G. affected him, and Cam tunes him out: “Part of my lifestyle was filtering out all the white noise so I could keep my focus razor-sharp on video games, where it belonged” (7). While Cam focuses on building an online community of followers, he ignores the physical community around him, including his fellow P.A.G. members.
Cam's selfishness continues when he uses the work his classmates provide under false pretenses. Other students complete Cam's work because they believe he is failing when he really wants more time for streaming. When Cam becomes valedictorian on the back of others' work, his community of peers becomes furious with him. As Freeland McBean (known as “The String”), puts it, “The String looked up to you, man. I don't look up to just anybody. And you turned out to be just another jerk” (205). The P.A.G.'s anger is so overwhelming that they chase Cam down and surround him as an angry mob. Cam's selfishness destroys the community he built as a club president.
Cam's pursuit of online fame does not just affect the P.A.G.; it also affects his closest friendship, the Awesome Threesome. Cam insists he needs Elvis present to draw more followers, despite Chuck arguing against it. Chuck claims that using Elvis in the stream is animal exploitation. Cam and Pavel are so focused on their wants that they no longer hear Chuck, even when he makes valid points. The same happens to Cam when he tells Pavel about his stalker. Pavel is so exhausted from helping Cam with the stream that he no longer takes Cam's words seriously. Cam also ignores Pavel when Pavel points out Cam's poor health and general misery as a streamer. The Awesome Threesome breaks down not because of any one member but because all the friends stop listening to each other. The breakdown of the Awesome Threesome highlights the importance of open and honest communication in friendship and community.
While selfishness and a lack of communication destroy communities, selflessness and understanding can help rebuild them. Cam earns back his reputation by expressing honest remorse for his actions and donating all the proceeds from his gaming. In this way, Korman illustrates that a member who wronged the community must make reparations, not just show remorse, to be readmitted. The Awesome Threesome becomes honest with themselves and each other, using empathy and understanding to see things from the other's point of view. In this way, they rebuild their relationship.
Korman also highlights the differences between online communities and real communities through Cam's experiences. Cam's real community helps others, raising money for various causes, completing his schoolwork, and navigating ethical challenges when they believe he is in danger of failing. His online community, however, is far less forgiving—something even more surprising as several members of Cam's online community are also members of his real community: his classmates. For example, when Cam streams without Elvis, all his classmates complain about the stream without concern for the streamer or Elvis. These are the same people who helped Cam with his assignments and built Elvis's habitat. Korman illustrates that authentic connections and communities are more challenging to build online, where anonymity can bring out the worst in people.
Ultimately, Level 13 portrays the fragile nature of communities and the essential qualities needed to sustain them. Through the breakdown and rebuilding of relationships, Korman emphasizes the value of empathy, honesty, and responsibility in creating resilient communities, both online and offline.
Evolving Identities, Relationships, and Responsibilities
In many ways, Level 13 is a coming-of-age novel where Cam, Pavel, and Chuck grow emotionally due to multiple conflicts and changes. Most of these conflicts revolve around evolving identities, relationships, and responsibilities as the Awesome Threesome finishes their final year of middle school.
Cam, Pavel, and Chuck struggle to find and cultivate their identities throughout the novel. In Slacker, the Awesome Threesome was a unit. Though they occasionally disagreed, they approached every challenge together. Level 13 sees their relationship fracture as all three boys establish identities beyond the Awesome Threesome.
Chuck struggles the most to establish his identity. He is not smart like Pavel nor particularly talented at gaming like Cam. However, Chuck is the first to venture beyond the Awesome Threesome and start a romantic relationship. Chuck becomes lost in the relationship and overlooks his established friendships rather than establishing a new facet of his identity. Pavel notes, “He was Daphne's animal now. Every time she crooked her little finger, he went running. Friends didn't mean anything to him anymore” (123). Chuck tries to argue with his friends over their treatment of Elvis, but they believe Chuck only repeats Daphne's arguments. However, when Chuck breaks up with Daphne to protect Cam, he demonstrates a core part of his identity: his loyalty. By the novel's end, Chuck evolves to find a balance between his romantic relationship and friendships, illustrating the evolution in one's identity, relationships, and responsibilities.
Pavel develops his identity throughout the novel, though more grudgingly than Chuck. Pavel struggles under the strain of multiple responsibilities. He tries to keep his friendship with Cam, help Cam with his stream, and maintain his grades. The pressure causes Pavel to lose patience with Chuck, and their friendship is non-existent for much of the novel. Pavel struggles to accept Chuck's new relationship and the shifting dynamic between him and Cam. Eventually, when the responsibility of helping Cam with his stream causes his grades to slip, Pavel realizes what is most important to him and reevaluates his choices.
First, he resolves to quit the stream because “it wasn't worth the sacrifices” (181). Second, he realizes the pressure likely exacerbated his falling out with Chuck. When Chuck breaks up with Daphne, Pavel realizes, “Ever since he'd started with Daphne, I accused Chuck of being a lousy friend. I blamed him for everything that had happened to the Awesome Threesome…And now he had acted like the best friend in the history of friendship” (193). Chuck's actions make Pavel reevaluate his own. He mends his friendship with Chuck and welcomes Daphne into their friend group rather than purposely isolating her. Pavel realizes he can maintain his relationship with the Awesome Threesome and make room for Daphne, illustrating how relationships can evolve and accept new interpersonal dynamics with welcoming arms rather than cold shoulders.
Finally, Cam also evolves his identity, though he starts by hiding it. For much of the novel, GameFox229 consumes Cam, and he loses his identity to his internet persona. Cam's role as GameFox229 pushes him to make decisions against his true personality. He cheats at school as his classmates start completing work for him. He stops spending time with his friends because the stream consumes all his time. Cam stops smiling, barely eats, and generally looks miserable. The more successful Cam's stream becomes, the less he can see of himself. When forced to quit streaming, Cam finds himself again. While his goal was always to get paid for having fun playing video games, monetizing streaming turned out not to be fun. It became a chore that took an enormous toll on Cam's physical and mental health. Cam reconnects with his personality and sense of morality when he gives it up, donating all his gaming profits to the library fund.
Level 13 navigates the theme of evolving identities, relationships, and responsibilities. Through the experiences of Cam, Pavel, and Chuck, the novel illustrates the complexities of growing up and the importance of staying true to oneself amidst changing dynamics and pressures. Each character's journey highlights the necessity of balance, self-awareness, and integrity in the face of evolving challenges.
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