Ana Cristobal

Professor Jennifer Rodrick

English 114 B
April 18, 2016
Identity comes from within
Every person is unique and has the choice to decide who they want to be. Their identity is
determined by their actions, whether its good or evil. When it comes to identity many people
would say that friends or families have made them who they are, but what if you did not have
any of them; would you still consider yourself the same person you identify as of now? The
novel, Every day by David Levithan is a very interesting book regarding identity. It is basically
about a character, who is known as A, who is very different compared to any ordinary sixteen
year old. A does not have a physical body, he inherits other peoples lives for a full day. A is a
teen who sees the world through different eyes daily. A is just a self who wakes up in a different
body, house, and family every single day. A can never have a permanent physical body therefore
he has no specific appearance. Throughout the novel, even though A lacks a physical body or a
family, he still has a sense of morality which allows us to identify him as a loving and caring
person, just like most human beings.
In the beginning of the book A talks about the struggles that he has had of trying not to
make lasting connections with people. A knows that he can never build friendships so he tries to
forget the person whose life he borrowed or the people that were involved during that day, he
only focuses in the present. Throughout time A forgot about wanting bonds with people because
he knew that it was impossible. In the book he said, At first it was hard to go through each day
without making any lasting connections, leaving any life-changing effects. When I was younger,

I craved friendship and closeness. I would make bonds without acknowledging how quickly and
permanently they would break. I took other peoples lives personally. I felt their friends could be
my friends, their parents could be my parents. But after a while, I had to stop. It was too
heartbreaking to live with so many separations (Levithan 7). This shows us of the experiences
that he has gone through and at a pretty young age he learned that he couldnt get attached to
anyone. Even though A knew that he could never have the life of the people whom he inherited,
he never did anything to harm them. He was probably envious but never really did something to
the physical body to damage it on purpose. In fact every physical body that he borrowed he tried
to take care of it by making sure that he doesnt get hurt. It shows that A is a caring person
because he can always do evil things without dealing with the repercussions but he chooses not
to.
Even though A learned not to get too attached to people, when he borrowed Justins body
and met Rhiannon he fell in love and couldnt ignore the strong feelings he had for her. When A
was in Justins body he met his girlfriend, Rhiannon. By accessing Justins memories he realized
that Justin was a total jerk to her and hated him for that. Something about Rhiannon made A
forget about not getting attached, he wanted to be with her. Rhiannon did suspect something from
Justin in the beginning because she noticed a big change in his personality. Even though it was A
who was in control, Rhiannon didnt notice. A saw that Rhiannon was a nice person who was in
the wrong relationship. He felt bad for her because he knew that she deserved someone better
than Justin. A wanted to spend more time with Rhiannon so he told her if she wanted to skip their
sixth class and go somewhere else. They decided to go to the beach. Through their 2 hour drive
they were singing along with the radio and both were enjoying the moment. A wanted to give
Rhiannon the best day that he could and their day was spectacular. A was saddened when he

realized that Rhiannon thought it was Justin in the body instead of him. He knew that Justin was
her boyfriend but at that moment he wanted to stay with her forever. He ended up falling in love
with her. He experienced what most people do, love. Even though he knew better by not getting
attached it was something he didnt want to do. A ended up doing what his heart wanted, which
was to be with Rhiannon. They both had an unforgettable day and A treated Rhiannon the way
she deserved to be treated, like a queen. In this scene of the book A shows a loving side of him
by becoming vulnerable and forgets that he is just there for a day. This scene also shows a gentle
side of him and it also gives us the idea that he knows how to respect a woman. He doesnt take
advantage of Rhiannon and is very respective towards her.
In the novel, A inhabits a boy named Nathan and accidently forgets to delete the history
from Nathans computer. Nathan who knew that he wasnt himself when A was in his body,
thought he was possessed by the devil. Nathan couldnt let go of what he went through so he
sought help from Reverend Poole. One day A decided to explain everything to Nathan so that he
can prove to him that he is not the devil, but he got ambushed by Nathan. A thought he was only
meeting up with Nathan at his house but was surprised when Reverend Poole showed up as well.
As encounter with Reverend Poole was weird. Reverend Poole told A that he possessed a power
and that he can learn how to make it last longer. A was freaked out and ran away, but it made him
think of what Reverend Poole told him. A didnt want to become like Reverend Poole so he
decided to run away Even though A couldve chosen to take Pooles advice so that he can be with
Rhiannon forever, he chose not to because he didnt like the fact that he would disrupt someone
elses life. In the article, A day in constant motion by Michael Jones, he says A tries not to
disrupt the lives theyre briefly assuming, but sometimes, things happen. Even though A has
access to necessary memories and experiences, and is an expert at playing along with friends and

family, sometimes, there are disruptions (Jones). This explains that A doesnt like to mess up the
lives that he inhabits and a good example found within the book is when he inhabits Alexander.
When A was in Alexanders body he was almost tempted to take Reverend Pooles offer, but
knew that it is wrong to take over someone elses life for his own benefit. Even though he
wanted a future with Rhiannon and he loved her so much he wasnt going to commit what he
called murder. He decided to run away but he didnt want to leave Rhiannon heartbroken, so he
allowed Alexander to remember the date that they had, so that he can never forget what a good
time he had. A liked Alexander so much because in a way he saw himself like him. He wanted
Rhiannon to be with someone who was almost like him.
Even though physical appearance might describe someone it doesnt really determine
who the person is from the inside. Personality is something that cant be seen through physical
appearance. In the case of A, he didnt have a physical body but that didnt mean that he had no
emotions. A wakes up in different bodies every single day but he knows who he truly is and what
his values are. In the article Every Day We Write the Book, by David Levithan he says, A is able
to see each and every person as inherently human, in a way that we cant because of all the
stories weve digested (Levithan, David). This explains the way A thinks of each person. He
doesnt do things without thinking about them first. He can chose to be a selfish person and do
whatever he wants with the bodies that he barrows, but chooses not to because he knows the
difference between wrong and right. He also fell in love with Rhiannon which shows that he
experienced what everybody else does, love, he isnt an emotionless self.
A chooses to be a good person and that says a lot for a person with the ability to be
someone different every day. He values a persons personality or the memories that he has of

them. He is just like any other person except with a permanent body, but that doesnt changes
who he is.

Works Cited
Jones, Michael M. "A Life in Constant Motion: Every Day by David Levithan."Torcom A Life in
Constant Motion Every Day by David Levithan Comments. N.p., 07 Sept. 2012. Web.
20 Apr. 2016
Levithan, David. Every Day. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print
Levithan, David. "Every Day We Write the Book." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com
28 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
Youtube. 19 Apr. 2016 (Video)
Google. 19 Apr. 2016 (Picture)
Google. 19 Apr.2016 (Picture)