Imagine living a life where you change bodies every day, and you can't hold onto anything precious in your life. The problem is that there are things you want to keep with you, but as you cling to them in the impossible hope that this time, you might stay, you're ripped from the life that you live at that moment, and soon, that life becomes a distant memory. In the story Every Day by David Levithan, the main character A struggles with this in every waking moment of his existence. The story begins when he first meets a girl called Rhiannon, and from the moment he sees her for the first time, he can't imagine the idea that he would have to let go of her, just like he had to do for all of his previous lives. As a result, A keeps trying to be with her, without any regard to the lives of the people that he takes over for a day. A's love for Rhiannon is so strong that it controls him, which ultimately puts the power in their relationship into Rhiannon's hands, and because A loves her so much, he does not try to fight back against her.
Rhiannon's power over A is shown multiple times in the story. For example, on pages 27-28 of the story, A thinks to himself, "This is hard for me. I have gotten so used to what I am, and how my life works. I never want to stay. I'm always ready to leave. But not tonight. Tonight I'm haunted by the fact that tomorrow he'll (the boy who's life is taken over by A at that moment) be here and I won't be. I want to stay. I pray to stay. I close my eyes and wish to stay." This quote is saying that A feels as if it's unfair that he has to leave and he can't stand the fact that he cannot be with Rhiannon. Also, the word haunted means disturbed or distressed, which shows just how emotionally troubling the idea of leaving Rhiannon is to A. Similarly, at the end of the story, Rhiannon tells A that they can't be together. This devastates A, since although he knows it's true, A doesn't want to believe her. This shows that in the relationship between Rhiannon and A, Rhiannon has the power to either enrapture A, or completely destroy him.
A's love for Rhiannon keeps him from opposing her actions. First, on page 4 of the story, A thinks "I turn, and the girl standing there is transparent in her emotions- tentative and expectant, nervous and adoring." This line shows the beauty that A sees in Rhiannon, and explains how captivated he was from the moment he saw her. Also, the way that he sees Rhiannon as tentative and expectant shows that he believes that he can give her what she wants, which sadly for A, led to him giving her many things. Second, throughout the story, A feels more hatred towards Justin (Rhiannon's commanding boyfriend), and as much as he wants to do something about him, he doesn't do anything because he doesn't risk ruining his relationship with Rhiannon. This shows that A is willing to give up his desires just so that he can attempt to continue his already forsaken relationship with Rhiannon. He also doesn't do anything because he knows that Rhiannon still has hope for Justin, and A is willing to do whatever he can to appease her. Throughout the story, A is too afraid to risk hurting his relationship with Rhiannon, and as a result, he does not voice his opinion against anything Rhiannon might say.
To sum up, A's love for Rhiannon is what controls the power and resistance in their relationship. Because A loves Rhiannon so much, he is unwilling to do anything that might make Rhiannon dislike him. His love also gives Rhiannon the ability to control A's emotions, as she can end the relationship when she realizes that it would be impossible for them to be together for the rest as their lives, which affects A greatly. This story is an example of the fact that love can be a very controlling factor in relationships in the world. This is especially true for teens, since love can be a huge stressor for them.
Love can dictate the actions of people, and this can happen without the person ever even realizing it.
Fantastic analysis work!
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