Post #7 Book 4 Reflection

In Gayle Forman's If I Stay, the main character, Mia, is a relatively likable character.  Mia is a quiet cellist who strives her hardest to impress her parents.  I think that Mia is likable because she is so relatable.  I think, however, that readers will not like Mia and only because she is so likable and relatable.  An interesting, and maybe confusing thought, but sometimes when someone is very popular or likable, people avoid them just because of what they’re heard. On page 8, Mia’s thought process goes like this: “I hear a crash and a boom coming from upstairs.  Teddy is pounding on his drum kit.”  I think a lot of siblings can relate to this kind of thing, especially people with siblings that are a lot louder than they are.  Since my brother is a drummer, I have experiences like that a lot.  I think that specifically sisters of brothers would be able to relate better because they typically view their brothers as loud or annoying.  I’m not specifically saying that Mia sees Teddy as obnoxious, but I know that a lot of girls would be annoyed if their brother did something like that and so early in the morning.  As I was saying, I think that Mia is a likable character because she is relatable.

I think Mia’s likability was almost completely gone towards the end of the book.  I think that she almost wears out her personality as the book goes on and tries too hard to be shy and kind.  I have absolutely nothing against shy people, but towards the end, I felt that her character was a bit forced.  This could just be me, but it seemed overused.  However, the undertone of depression towards the end of the book did prove to make it more interesting.  The plot wasn’t completely bland the last three fourths of the book because of that, but the general idea did get a bit old.   

Mia’s likability does become irritating as the plot advances, especially when her depression and hopelessness takes over her.  I would even go far enough to say that maybe her likability goes away completely as the depression kicks in.  On page 228, it says “I don’t care anymore.  I’m tired of this all, and it will be over soon.”  This line of despair doesn’t make me pity Mia, it actually causes me to become angry at her.  When someone gives up completely it makes me become angry, and despite how hypocritical it may be, I wish people didn’t even have the ability to think of giving up.  It’s a hopeless thought, but maybe if Mia hadn’t been exposed to her decision in the first place, then maybe her overwhelming depression never would have been a large part of her life. 

Mia’s depression, however, also makes her more likable.  I think that, again, this could be because so many teenagers have depression or similar issues.  Mia’s depression made it easier to identify what she was feeling even at her darkest times and when she was thinking about the worst things.  I think the ending to If I Stay makes Mia’s character more likable because she chooses in a way that I think made people believe that they can also be as strong as Mia.  Because even in her darkest times, Mia always chose what she truly believed in at the end.  That is why I think that Mia from If I Stay is a likable character, and that anyone can relate to her and that this story will have a lasting impact on generations to come.