In this chapter Green describes concisely why scratch and sniff stickers have the strong effect they do on him as well as how they work. He explains that when he was younger, whenever he was bullied and didn’t want to tell his mom he would lie and instead find comfort in the artificial smells of the stickers. Then he describes how the smells of the stickers are encapsulated through microencapsulation allowing them to be long lasting, which he comments as useful technology for medicine. I think that Green’s inspiration for this chapter came in the form of his memories. From his first reference to the subject of the chapter to the chapter’s subject itself, the focus was the impact memories have on people. At the end of the chapter, it’s revealed that Green is attached to his sticker book because to him that is his childhood. Our perception of how we remember things and their impact on us is what I think his intent behind this chapter was trying to acknowledge. I think that this topic directly correlates with having a life of significance, as your perception of things mostly shapes your morals and ambitions. Furthermore, I believe that your childhood has impacted your future and the way you’ll continue to view the world around you like how Green expressed in this chapter. I think this chapter highlights something that shaped Green’s view of his life and made him inquire about things he assumed to already be knowledgeable of. An example of this would be what “natural” rainwater smells like, since water from when he was a kid compared to now smells more acidic. Personally, I liked the chapter, although at some points I questioned its overall relevance. However, after completing the reading, I think I grasped the intended message about perception of memories and the impact they have.
So, like Green, I give Scratch ‘N’ Sniff Stickers three and a half stars.