We Are All Made Of Molecules Character Analysis

Sometimes, people don’t get along when they first meet, which is exactly the situation with Stewart and Ashley. In Susin Nielsen’s “We Are All Made of Molecules”, two families (the Inksters and the Andersons) move in together after the Andersons separate, and Stewart’s mom dies. It focuses on Stewart’s struggle to fit into his new school, and Ashley’s effort to maintain her reputation there, while coming to terms with her dad’s homosexuality. While Stewart changes immensely throughout the book, Ashley accepted her new family, and her dad’s homosexuality, she befriended new people at school that she typically would not have earlier, and grows to get along, and like Stewart, which was all he wanted throughout the book. Out of the 2 co-protagonists
She avoided him at all costs at school to try and keep it a secret that he lives with her, “...when I looked up, I saw the nerd-bot in the doorway of my English class. And he started to make a beeline toward me. … I shot up from my desk and intercepted him. ‘What are you doing in here? … Get away from me, Now.’” (Nielsen, 39). This breaks Stewart’s heart and he eventually begins to hate Ashley in return. Ashley also acts rude and disrespectful towards Stewart at home too. She did not care about Stewart and she did not want to, to her, he was just an acquaintance. “Then we spotted the thing on his desk. … Clearly Stewart and his nerd-ball friend had spent the day building it. Lauren and I locked eyes, ‘Dare you,’ she whispered. It was a no-brainer. I picked up Stewart’s math book. I held it over the tower. I dropped it” (Nielsen, 76) But, when Stewart took Jared’s phone and ran away to crush it so he would not have pictures under her bra without her permission, Ashley gained and started showing a lot of respect and love for him. She even created a club at school dedicated to protecting Stewart from Jared when he gets back from suspension. Which was a drastic change in the book which resolved a lot of conflict and created a “happy ever after” ending.

In conclusion, both of the co-protagonist’s personalities changed largely. But, of the two of them, Ashley’s personality changes more. Which impacts Stewart and her family largely, and creates a resolution. This is demonstrated through her drastic attitude change towards her family, her peers at school, and Stewart. Ashley might have been a rude, ignorant person at the beginning of the novel, but as they say, there’s good in