Perez

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KatherinePerezDeleon
ProfessorBeadle
English113B
9May2016

Love:FreeorOppressing?
Inthenovel,EveryDaybyDavidLevithan,theprotagonistinthestorynamedA
changesbodieseveryday.Aisasoulwholivesthroughotherpeopleslivesbutalwaystriesto
carryoutanormaldayinthebodyslifethatAisin.AsAtriedtocarryanormallife,thatall
changedoncehecameacrossagirlnamedRhiannonthatcreatedasparkinAandcompletely
fellinlovewithher.Aputsallofhisefforttomaketheimpossiblepossiblebyforminga
relationshipwithherdespitethedifficultcircumstancesthatstandagainsttheirrelationship.
AlthoughAsperspectiveonlovewasformedafterhemetRhiannon,hisappearanceon
changinggenderroles,havinglowselfesteemissuesandactingoutonunthinkabledecisions
madeArealizehispurposeforexistinganddiscoveringhisidentityashegoesthroughthis
journeywithRhiannon.ThesefactorsplayedaroleinAslovelifeasAlearnsandexperiences
eachofthesenegativeissuesthroughouttheentirerelationshipandtheymatterbecauseithelped
Agrowandfeelmoreofapersonwithitsownidentity.
Inthebeginningofthenovel,Adidnotbelieveinanyformofrelationshipoflove.He
stronglybelievedthatitcouldneverbesuccessfulbecauseofthedifferenceshehadtowardsthe
world.Ahadonceclaimedtobeinlove,butdenieditquicklyafterwardsandneverthoughtofit
again.InthenovelAsaid,Ifellinloveonce,oratleastuntiltodayIthoughtIhad.Hisname
wasBrennan(pg.25)Thisiswhenheadmitstobeinginloveanditisalsowhereheadmitsit

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waswithamale,whichmakesitunclearwhatgenderroleAleanstowardsbutIstillidentifyA
asamale.Adidnotunderstandthepurposeofhissoullivinginotherpeoplesbodiesandnot
havingabodyofhisown.Sincehedidnothaveabodyofhisownhewasunabletolovehimself
forwhoorwhathewassincehisappearanceisconstantlychangingeveryday.Hedidnothavea
truegenderidentityandbecauseofthathewasnotabletolovehimselfforwhathisappearance
wouldbethatday.Aneverunderstoodwhyhis/herlifehadtobeinthisformandtriedtocome
toanunderstandingwithapurpose,butnevercould.ThatallchangedwhenAmeetssomeone
thatwouldbecomeimportanttohim.Someonewhowillencouragehimtodiscoverhimself
more.(addevidence)

Onemorning,AwakesupinateenagerbodynamedJustin.Helearnsabouthislifeand

triestocarryoutanormaldayinJustinslifeuntilhearrivestohishighschoolandmeets
Justinsgirlfriend,Rhiannon.HelearnshowJustintreatsheranditbecomesclearthathedoesso
unfairlyandtodayhehastheoptiontochangethatjustforthetimetheywillencountereach
otherthatday.Ahadthechoicetoconnectordisconnectwithherandbechosetoconnect.
Although,Aneverconnectedwithpeoplethroughoutitsentirelivingexistence,hetakesa
chancebecausethereissomethingaboutRhiannonthathadgottenhisattention.Thereisalways
oneemotionthatthehumanspeciescannotignore,asensationthatcannotbetakenaway,itsa
feelingthatwetendtocravetowherewedevourone,love.Inthearticle,ALaborofLove
by Jean-Noe Vergens, At that moment, I had one purpose one detre, one thing I was searching
for that obsession, that passion was medicine. (653) Although Vergens was speaking about
medicine, it relates to what A was feeling towards Rhiannon. He instantly felt something between
him and her, possibly a spark that he couldnt ignore. It was more of reason for him to decide to
create the relationship they were going to have. A steps out of his comfort zone and A begins to

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learn more about himself and reflect its true identity the more he spends time with her.
As Rhiannon learns more about A and how he changes bodies everyday, she learns that
appearance will be a factor to carry out on this unique relationship. For instance, A had woken up
in a females body and when they tried to be intimate and perform an innocent kiss, Rhiannon
was not able to agree to it. She said, This is definitely weird Why? Because youre a
girl?(132) Rhiannon is uncomfortable that A is in a females body because she only has an
attraction to males and even though she knows A is in the females body she is not able to treat A
like her boyfriend. Yes, appearance was the only issue here and it relates to the real world
because many claim that appearance will hardly be an issues that it is mostly whats on the
inside, but we can all agree that isnt the case. It can be a huge factor especially with A because
Rhiannon is not able to express her feelings towards him in a females body. If Rhiannon wants
to, she can but she does not want to make people believe she has attraction for both male and
female. Appearance had become a burden into this relationship and this had become a problem
that neither one was able to control a regular relationship.
A felt self-conscious everyday in the body he would wake up if the body was not a well
built male and did not have any major flaws. A felt the need to look and act a certain way only to
satisfy Rhiannon. For instance, in the article, My Hips, My Caderas by Allison ValdezRodriguez, the author states that My best friend Stacy and I set out dieting right away that
summer, to lose our new hips from the heights, would like us. (pg. 74) The writer did not feel
confident in the body that she had because of the way people judges her outlook everyday was an
issue that affected her. Rhiannon was someone A wanted to please and that is why there were
some days where A would make excuses and avoid visiting her because of how he looked that
day. Appearance and self-confidence have a way of connecting to love an it can become a huge

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burden or problem in some relationships.
As Rhiannon and A continue their connection, A begins to notice that coming to find
Rhiannon everyday becomes more difficult when distance starts to become and issues. A wake
up in a boy name Nathan and A finds out that he is a couple hours away from her. This is when
he starts to make unthinkable decisions and will do anything to see her. A drives a couple hours
to see her without thinking of the problems his actions can make. Towards the end of the night on
his way back to Nathans home, the clock strikes twelve and becomes too late for A to get
Nathan back home and leaves his body on the road in the middle of nowhere. A had to suffer
consequences and because of this situation A not only affected himself but as well as Nathan and
the people around him. Mainly Nathan because he woke up confused the next day and believed
that he was possessed and something was going to take over his body, possible a demon. It made
Nathan believe all these crazy ideas of what had happened to him that night and began to search
for answers. As actions went against its values and morals which were to not go outside too far
to not make it back in home, to not change the life in the body that he was in and try his best to
live a normal day of that person. He broke all of them by breaking its own rules. A then slowly
starts to see how more complicated this relationship will get, mostly because he will never know
what body, how far A will be in and knows that if he were to go against and break the rules again
it would happen more than once. These challenges affect how to maintain a healthy relationship
because once one partner starts to make unthinkable decisions, that person will make it a habit
and can destroy the relationship because they are not being smart about their actions since they
would be out of impulse.
As actions that he has taken for Rhiannon were made and acted for one reason, the love it
grew for her. In the article, Self Identity and Culture by Ronald Jackson, Cerise Glen and

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Kesha Williams, People use symbols to represent meaning that are relevant to their experiences.
Consider for a moment how you would explain love, freedom (pg. 123) Love is a symbol that
is shown throughout the entire novel, A uses this symbol in many different ways since the
beginning and it is the reason how this relationship with Rhiannon all began. Although A
committed to an unthinkable and careless decision it was proving itself how much love and care
he had for her. A never experienced such a strong love and attraction for someone until it had met
Rhiannon and is willing to do about almost anything to keep what Rhiannon and A have between
each other despite the obstacles and circumstances they are in. He has never felt so close to
normal and if he is able to continue and keep this relationship as normal as possible, it gives A a
chance to feel as a true and real human being. Not only that, but also feeling as if he has a
purpose in life for making someone happy, feeling loved and being treated as they should be. A
wants to believe that the love Rhiannon and A created will be strong enough to overcome
everything and conquer all but later he comes to realize that wont be the case. The obstacles that
both of the encountered made it clear that it would make them unhappy. In the article,
Encyclopedia of the Mind by Robert Sternberg, Love has the potential to make people both
very happy and very unhappy.(473) By letting this relationship go any further despite the issues
they had, it would make Rhiannon and A very unhappy.
Before living in Justins body, A had always tried hard to live the life of the body it was in
to carry out a regular day. He never discovered what its true personality was until A found itself
spending the day with Rhiannon. Its personality was sweet and pure and at times it was not so
sweet and pure but she immediately noticed that. The moment A chose to connect, it was the
moment when A would begin how true its character is and throughout the novel As personality
as able to shine even through the bad moments of his unwise actions. A was able to go through

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and have feelings that everyone around the world experience or troubles with in regular
relationships. A was finally able to feel what a person feels for once and go through when it
comes to their partners personalities.
Before this great impact on As life, it never truly appreciated its existence and was always
left with unanswered questions of why it life was the way it was. Never being able to have a real
mom, dad, or siblings affected the way he carried himself and even when it came to loving
someone. Rhiannon was able to change that ad it allowed A to grow close to someone to love ad
allowed this change to occur. Throughout the journey it carried with her, A discovered its own
own meaning of love, and that was This is what love does: it makes you want to rewrite the
world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person
you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible,
endlessly possible (Levithan 175). A was able to feel this in the journey it took and it had been
because of Rhiannon. She was able to give its true definition of love, a love that could not
conquer all but was able to let her go so she could love someone else for a very long time. A
loved her so much he wanted her to have the best future with someone it believed he would give
her. Not only did A experience this love, he was able to grow as a soul from living itself and
gaining confidence not mattering what body it would take over everyday. A was able to find a
great piece of its soul and identity that it had no clue before. A says, For me its the start of a
present that has both a past and present. For the first time in my life, I run. (322) He looks
forward for whats to come and will make the best out of it.

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Works Cited Page

1. Vergnes, Jean-Noel. "Love." Annals of Internal Medicine, 161.10 (2014): 758.
2. Pashler, Harold E. Encyclopedia Of The Mind. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc,
2013. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 11 May 2016.
3. Jackson, Ronald, Cerise Glenn and Kesha Williams. Self Identity and Culture. Health
Commuication Research (2000): n. pg. Web.
4. Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa. 150,000 ESSAYS. Professional Essay on My Hips, My
Carderas by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez and Colonialism. MSNs Underwire, Apr. 2000.
Web.