Anyone who has been through a heartbreak, whether it’s with a significant other or just a friend, can tell you how people that have been hurt usually hurt people. If you’ve been hurt you most likely build barriers which you think are going to help, but in reality they just hurt the people around you. Anna Todd exaggerates this in her novel, After. She uses point of view and characterization to emphasize her observation about how hurt people usually hurt people.
After is about a girl who is in a stable relationship and a great home but once she goes to college everything she knows disappears. Tessa, the main character, goes to college and she just starts to get settled in, then she meets Hardin. Hardin is from england, he is very self centered,
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In each chapter it switches between Tessa and Hardin's point of view. If you’ve ever gotten in a verbal fight you know that it’s always best to know both sides of the story and that’s exactly what Anna Todd does. Hardin explains that he loves Tessa in his chapters but he never tells Tessa until the end of the book. Tessa talks about Hardin like he’s a king in her chapters. Hardin obviously doesn’t deserve Tessa, he’s put her through unspeakable things and yet she still continues to love him. Hardin and Tessa are like oil and water, if one of them had a bad day the other one surrounds them with love. Although sometimes they act like a flower, destined to die. Their relationship is very on and off, one day they’re in love and the next day they’re screaming at each other. I love when Anna Todd switches between Hardin and Tessa’s point of view because it explains the story and adds more drama. Tessa also talks about her mom and says that she loves her but drives her insane. Hardin says that Tessa’s mom is a lunatic and he’s not wrong. Tessa and her mom go through multiple rough patches and they cut their relationship off towards the end of the book. This goes to prove that Hardin is wrecking everything in Tessa’s life including her relationship with her