Eleanor and Park by: Rainbow Rowell

In the novel Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, the story of Eleanor and Parks unique and unanticipated relationship is unfolded with many twists and turns. While Park is a seemingly very shy and simple character, Eleanor is quite the opposite. Eleanor fits under the archetype of the out casted, misunderstood new girl in school that nobody truly knows or gets to know except for Park.

One example that Eleanor fits under this archetype is that after Eleanor shows up on the bus going to school for the first time, she is immediately judged and disliked due to the fact that she doesn't look like everybody else. Her clothes aren't considered "trendy," in fact quite the opposite, and her out-of-control red hair and weight earned her many nicknames such as "big red" and "rag head." After seeing Eleanor for the first time Park was in shock, "She was dressed like...like she wanted people to look at her. Or maybe she didn't get what a mess she was." he thought to himself. This shows that Eleanor was quickly out casted by her new peers seeing that she stood out from everyone else right away, and not in a good way. 

            Another example that proves that Eleanor out casted and misunderstood is that in the story, Eleanor is constantly bullied at school for many reasons. One of the most common causes of the bullying is her wardrobe. However, her peers may think that she chooses to dress in patched up jeans and men’s sweaters and shirts because she is a strange girl, when really she has no other option. During just another day in gym class, Eleanor has a rude awakening when she discovers that all of her clothing has been dumped into and unsuccessfully flushed down the toilet. Instead of being able to just throw out these clothes though, she grudgingly keeps them because she knew that these clothes, even though soaked in toilet water, were quite valuable to her because for someone like Eleanor who had to share one room with four other siblings and brush her teeth with her finger and salt, these toilet-water clothes were a privilege. This shows that Eleanor is treated terribly for things that are out of her power to fix.

            My last example that shows that Eleanor is an outsider is that she is not only rejected by her peers, but by her own family as well. Even though Eleanor did used to have an alliance with her siblings against their stepfather and a strong connection with her mother, that had all been put on hiatus after she was kicked out of the house and left with family friend’s for over a year. “Eleanor had spent so much time thinking about what it would be like to come home…but when Eleanor walked in the house, it was like her siblings didn’t even recognize her.” This showed me that even Eleanor’s own family didn’t even seem to appreciate her homecoming and that she was an outcast to them.

            In conclusion, it is clear that Eleanor fits the archetype of the outcast in this story because of the way she is treated both by her family at home and her peers at school.  She may seem like just another quirky new girl, but she does have her own story and baggage hidden under her red-hair and ripped jeans, only nobody knows. 

               

Everyday By: David Levithan Response 

By: Sophia Stelboum 811

               So how far would you really go for love? Probably not as far as main character, A, in the novel "Everyday" by David Levithan. A's life is incomparably different to others because of the fact that everyday of his life so far, he has woken up in a completely new body than as the day before. However, though A is always different on the outside, his/her thoughts, feelings, and entire persona remains the same. As well has having his/her own thoughts, A also has access to all of his host's thoughts, feelings and any other information about their life. A tries to lead a simple life, regardless of these circumstances, and not get involved with his host's life until one individual, Rhiannon, changes everything. After a day spent with her, A instantly starts to fall quite hard for Rhiannon. As the story continues, their love grows stronger yet harder to maintain as A is never the same person twice. This doesn't at all cause A to give up hope for his love with Rhiannon, which shows how much of a dedicated and hard-working person A really is.

               One example of A's dedication is that after he meets Rhiannon, he stops caring about the person who's life he has control of and will screw up things for them just to get to see her. For example, in the story after A has met Rhiannon for the first time, he finds himself in someones body that is not too far away from her and decides to take advantage. However, it becomes a little extreme when A drives all the way to the party of a stranger, lies about his true identity to everyone he meets, and then to top it off leaves the body of his host asleep in his car on the side of the road to wake up the next morning terrified and confused. This shows that A would even risk the life of others just to see Rhiannon. 

               Another example that shows how A is very devoted person is that no matter how far away A is from Rhiannon, he almost always makes the effort to go and see her unless he/she is in a completely impossible situation. For example, every time that A wakes up in a new body, one of the first thing that he accesses information to in his host's head is how far away he is from Rhiannon and how he will get to her. Once he figures this out, he finds a way to get out of whatever his host has planned for the day and makes the trip to Rhiannon. Even if he only has to walk a couple of blocks to her or drive 5 hours, A makes the commute every time. This lead me to believe even more that A did not care what it would take as long as he got to see Rhiannon that day. 

                My last example of why I feel that A is a very committed character is that even though having any sort of relationship with Rhiannon has proved to be near impossible and problematic in many ways, A does not stop pushing to come to some sort of resolution with her. For example, even tho Rhiannon repeatedly tells A that she doesn't want anything romantic with him/her, that doesn't stop A from making plans with Rhiannon, constantly dropping his plans to visit her and sending out countless emails to her. Rhiannon always finds herself not being able to resist due to A's devotion to her. This shows me that A will stop at nothing and continue to fight for this love no matter how difficult it is.

               In summation, it is clear that A is very committed and persevering person and if he/she wants something, he/she will cease to give it up without fighting for it. Even though A's issues were unique and unlike any other individual's, that didn't stop him from trying to come up with solutions that would let him and Rhiannon be together. Throughout the story, A never once gives up hope which portrays a very powerful moral to this story's reader. After reading "Everyday," I am now very inspired to fight for anything that believe in if it is important enough to me. I have learned that I am lucky to be in a situation very different from A's and that I shouldn't take my life for granted when A is having problems much more severe than my own. If someone like A can fight for love, than anyone else who really wants it can too.