Monday, October 18, 2010

If I Stay


The book If I Stay by Gayle Forman was a very emotional, yet entertaining novel. The story takes place in Oregon during the winter months. It begins when the kids receive a snow day and the parents call off of work. Mia, the main character, Teddy, her little brother and parents decide to go on a family road trip. Not paying attention to the horrible weather conditions, Mia's father looses control of the car and goes flying off the road. Everything was a big blur to Mia. When she woke up she found herself in a ditch and she saw her dead mother and father on the road. Mia was life flighted to the hospital and had many injuries. The doctors even doubted her survival. "Apparently, I have a collapsed lung. A ruptured spleen. Internal bleeding of unknown organs. And most serious, the contusions on my brain. I've also got broken ribs. Abrasions on my legs, which will require skin grafts; and on my face,which will require cosmetic surgery-but, as the doctors note,that is only if I am lucky" (40). Although Mia could not move or even open her eyes, her spirit, or ghost, was able to walk and talk and think except no one could see her. Throughout the novel, Gayle refers back to Mia's life before the accident. One flashback talks about Mia's love for music, and how talented she was in playing the cello. Also it was music that brought Mia and her boyfriend Adam together. In the end, love encourages Mia to fight for her life. "Stay. With that one word, Adam's voice catches, but he swallows the emotion and pushes forward. There's no word for what happened to you. There's no good side of it. But there is something to live for" (230). She must touch Adam one last time before she can make the most difficult decision of her life. Mia must decide to stay, or go to heaven with the rest of her family.

1. Mia is pulled between wanting to die and wanting to live. If you were in Mia's position what would you choose to do and why?

2. The themes of sacrifice and choice occur throughout the story and play out in several relationships. Discuss the meanings of "sacrifice" and "choice." How are they different? How are they similar?

10 comments:

Natesa W. 7-8 said...

1. I think that deciding your own fate is one of the hardest things to do. For myself, it is hard to decide what I want to do tomorrow. To have the power to make such a huge decision could be dangerous. I think that I would choose to live. Even though I would go to Heaven and see my family, living my life is still where I would want to be. After living the life I want to live I will still die and hopefully end up going to Heaven.

Anonymous said...

1. It must have been very hard for Mia to decide whether to live or to die. If I was in Mia's position I would have chosen to live because her boyfriend, Adam, was still alive. Eventually, later in my life I would want to die and hopefully end up in heaven with the rest of my family.

Tyler W 1-2 said...

I would decide to stay because you only get one chance to live and you will go to heaven either way.

Ashley B. 1-2 said...

I would decide to stay because like said in the quote what happened to her was horrible but there is still something to live for... there is still a person who loves her dearly and would be there to support her and that is her boyfriend, Adam. You only get to live life once so live it to the fullest. She will eventually go to heaven and see her family again.

Sydney S. 1-2 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sydney S. 1-2 said...

1. If I was in this position, I think that I would want to live out the rest of my life. Despite the fact that I would want to be with my family, I think it is what they would want for me. And later in life, when I DO pass away and go to Heaven, I will see them again.

2. I think that "sacrifice" and "choice" are pretty similar. Sacrificing is choosing to do something for someone else or giving something up for the greater good.

Sevgim A.1-2 said...

1. I would stay because I could continue the family legacy and do things in their honor. Instead of the whole family ending at one time, I could make a family of my own and keep the name and traditions going. I could share memories with my family with others, so they would not be forgotten. It would be hard but it would be worth it in the end.

Lisa T. 1-2 said...

You have one life to live. Part of the privilege of living is accepting life as it is, for all the things that terrify us to the point of considering death. However, death isn't optional. Some people don't even have a choice to live, but everyone is dying as of day one. I would choose to stay, because something in life was worth fighting for. Death is a part of the cycle, but the opportunity to live life is a luxury. We aren't given something of value just to throw it away.

Mia G. 1-2 said...

dude, no way. im mia, and i play the cello. but my family is still alive and i dont have a boyfriend named adam. hahaha!

Heather B. 1-2 said...

1.) Choosing life would be difficult. But, if there truly is something to live for, then I think life is the best choice. If she loves him and believes he loves her, then she definately does have something to live for, even though choosing life would mean living without the people who are most important to her.

2.) Throughout life, people are faced with bot sacrifice and choice. Having to sacrifice something means there will definately be a loss in the person's life, however choice could just mean change. Both can be difficult, but can also be neccessary to move on in one's life.