In the novel Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch, seventeen-year-old Alexander - “Xan”, as he prefers to be called - is the protagonist. He and his older brother Robert, the book's narrator, have different fathers but live in the same apartment with their mother. Alexander has a complicated personality as he is mentally conflicted. The many disappointments he faces and has faced in the past are the reason for his complex nature. Alexander is a very short-tempered, socially awkward and misguided teenager. First of all, as the title of the novel states, Alexander is a "very angry young man." For starters, Alexander gets frustrated over little things. Robert even describes it: “My brother has possessed a highly developed sense of indignation for as long as I can remember. Once, in high school, I ate my carrot cake for lunch before I ate my chicken a la king, and he moved to another table” (Lynch 36). This reaction clearly reflects a short-tempered person. Similarly, Alexander's short temper is shown during a football match. The opponents play really hard but he doesn't get calls, and when he defends them aggressively they pretend to fall and exaggerate. As a result, he hits one of the opponents on the right pectoral and says, “I'll give you something to cry about” (Lynch 34). Finally, when Alexander realizes that the debt collector, the 'loan shark', is bothering his mother, he snaps: “I don't like it. I don't like it at all” (Lynch 50). One time, he and Robert get really angry and trap him, pushing him from side to side (Lynch 71). This shows his anger because he doesn't think wisely and quickly loses his temper. In addition to being short-tempered, Alexander is also socially awkward. Additionally, Alexander is very socially awkward. For starters, he wears... middle of paper... in tremendous ways and can't tell the difference between what's going too far or not. Finally, when Harry is kicked out of class in college, Alexander fights for equal rights and vandalizes the school with: “EDUCATION FOR ALL… IS A GOOD CAUSE” (Lynch 149). Alexander means well but is misguided, which causes no one to understand him or give him credit for doing something noble. The short read, Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch, describes the very complicated personality of Alexander, a seventeen-year-old boy who has lived and goes through several hardships such as never seeing his father, having difficulty in school and much more. He is a very short-tempered, socially awkward and misguided boy. His character is very complex and Chris Lynch does a great job portraying him. Works Cited Lynch, Chris. Angry young man. New York, New York, USA: Simon & Schuster, Inc., August 2012.