Stephanie Character Analysis

Stephanie, or Stevie as she likes to be called, is one of the young girls in this world that struggle with an eating disorder. She developed the disorder after she was told her mother left. After finding out, Stevie blamed only herself. She viewed her body and her appearance to be a main factor in her mother’s departure, while the real reason was not even in her control. She began to obsess over the way she looked and acted to try and morph herself into a “perfect girl” that her mother would want to come back to. Josh, her brother, was her main support system, so when he passed away in a car accident, she was devastated. Stevie believed she caused both of these events and was set on making herself pay for them. Stevie’s situation worried her

Believing she caused her mother’s departure, Stevie wanted to punish herself for it, and she forced herself down the horrible path of bulimia. “Upstairs in the shower, I convinced myself that maybe when I stepped into the hallway she’d be back. Maybe if I washed my hair just right or made my legs the kind of smooth you see in magazines. Maybe if I could mold myself into the perfect girl, the kind of girl who didn’t sneak chocolates or beg for sugary cereal. Maybe then” (40). Not knowing that her mother left for reasons she didn’t want to believe, blaming herself was the only option. She had no one else to blame. And sadly, not too long after her mother left, Stevie lost her brother, Josh in a car accident. Josh was driving them both home while they were in the midst of an argument. Their fighting was making it hard for josh to focus on the road. And that’s when the eighteen wheeler hit the car. Stevie blamed herself painstakingly again, but this time wanted to “avenge” Josh’s passing. Which is terrifying to think about. Such a young girl wanting so badly to hurt herself in order to punish herself for something she had no control over. But what’s even worse is the fact that she knows she’s in danger. She knows she could harm herself, and yet, she used her hunger as a way to push