Every day by David Levithan Analytical Essay

Julianna Kesselring
Prompt #2
Every day
In David Levithan’s novel Every day, A’s interaction with other characters and various experiences gradually shape him into a well rounded and deeper character. At the beginning of the text A’s idea of thinking seems original yet fluid. He (or she the gender of A is never revealed) has ideas and opinions of his own on society, but he is unbiased in a way that someone who has never really lived their own life. However by the end of the book A has become a being that is realizing who he truly is and the problems he has never faced, making him even more self actualized than the reader could ever think.
When A is first introduced to the reader, his obligation and his dedication to the way he must live, almost as a parasite but with no real physical harm, is presented by Levithan with a content feeling. A only knows his day to day problems and has apparently come to terms with his way of life. In contrast, as soon as the character Rhiannon is brought into A’s world everything changes. He still sees society for what it is and sees everyone without prejudice because he truly has walked a day in their shoes. However A has a feeling for himself. He begins to feel subconsciously cheated by the way he has had to live. A and Rhiannon try a relationship with the persistent urge and hope from A, but it is one with problems. Levithan uses Rhiannon and the characters A lives in after he meets her as tools and shapers for A. With every new person he has to live through, A begins to realize that he can and does have problems that he has to deal with.
Although a character without problems can be a positive thing, a character with conflict brings interest and more compassion for the character. In this case A already has a lot of the reader’s

compassion and interest but because of the way he begins to face the problems he has and begins to dabble into his host’s problems with advice and help from Rhiannon, the reader truly sees A’s real self forming and it is surprisingly and addictingly comforting, relatable, and satisfying. For example, A inhabits the body of a teenage girl who has severe depression, issues with self harm, and suicidal tendencies. The descriptions of the way the body is wearing on A are all too real and grasp at the reader’s emotions as well. A painfully resists the body’s needs and feelings, just like how he resisted the body’s needs for drugs when he inhabited the addict. In contrast A begins to feel even more obligated and empathetic towards the girl and her struggles. Along with hope for a better life for himself, he gains hope for others to have one. This development of clarity and empathy help the reader understand A even more and get a sense of him changing into a deeper character than before.
As A begins to fill his own shoes and increasingly transform into his own self, Levithan uses him and Rhiannon to support a reoccurring theme. Although their relationship didn’t and couldn’t work out, in truth they both still love each other, platonically. In Every day, it is proved that it doesn’t matter who you are, you can still fall in love with someone. A never thought that he could fall in love and think about a future, until Rhiannon came into his life. A helped
Rhiannon love herself, not fully or completely but more and that was what mattered. In addition,
A was the person she could show her true self to. Rhiannon found A as a confidant and a true friend and someone she could talk to about things that were of value to her. In a platonic way
Rhiannon fell in love with A and although it hurt A, it helped him in the end. Levithan uses this extraordinarily unique pairing to prove there is no standard for love.

In conclusion Every day, allows the reader to have an inside look at a relatable character in a unique situation coming of age and becoming himself (or herself). Not only does A find that he has problems, but he finds he has hopes and faith in the world. He discovers that he doesn’t want to just exist, but live and live a life he enjoys not just tolerates. By finding this, A learns that he does deserve love and the problems that come with it, especially living how he does. In addition, A finds love for himself that was much needed. Because of this, A’s ideas and sense of self become more stable and concrete, thereby giving the reader the inspiration to do so as well.
Throughout the novel the reader live through many people but by the end the reader is living only through A, because the people he lives through are what make him a person and the worthy person he is.