The Theme Of Life As We Knew It By Susan Beth Pfeffer

Imagine a meteor was going to hit the moon. Imagine what it would look like. What people would think about it. Now, think about what would happen if the meteor results in the moon being “tilted and wrong [...] and it got larger, way larger” (Pfeffer 19). This is what happens in Susan Beth Pfeffer’s novel, Life As We Knew It. This story presents sixteen-year-old Miranda and her family facing the hardships brought by the moon incident, such as food supply, temperature, and natural disasters. As more and more disastrous things happen Miranda understands that she must have hope. And that hope can lead to good things. A fundamental theme in the book, Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, is that hope is essential for one to stay perseverant

Driven by the fact that Michelle “had never disappeared the way the kids at school thought she had,” Miranda’s hope grew. She felt “like things are really better than we’ve been letting ourselves believe.” (Pfeffer 211-212). Miranda acknowledges that having hope and staying happy is better than being hopeless and pessimistic. She believes that it’s “Better to delude myself that things are okay than to delude myself that things are doomed.” She also says, “At least this way I smile” (Pfeffer 212). This underpins the theme because it shows how Miranda hopes that things are getting better, and that hope allows her to keep being positive and not give up. Miranda saying that it’s better to be hopeful even if it means she’s lying to herself seems to suggest that her hope permits her to be dedicated towards staying positive even though so many things are disastrous. Along with that, Pfeffer forms a short sentence at the end of this passage. The short sentence signifies that it’s an important detail, and not only that but it also sums up what Miranda was saying. With that being said, it’s visible that the big idea of hope is becoming

She was laying on the cold ground waiting to die when she saw “a sheet of paper dancing in the crosswinds down the street”; moreover, she saw that “ it was yellow” and with that, she decides that she “had to have it” (Pfeffer 332). The paper gave her hope, and even though it was cold and the conditions were horrible, she knows she needs to get that paper. She had to force herself “to stand up and chase the sheet of paper” in addition, Miranda said that “It taunted me with its dance, but I outwitted it and with all my remaining strength, put my foot over it and pinned it to the sidewalk” (Pfeffer 332). This passage connects to the theme because it highlights how the hope Miranda has when seeing the paper allows her to persevere. Even though she was weak, the hope gives her newfound energy to go after the paper and not let herself stay in the snow and die. Pfeffer crafts the personification “taunted me with its dance” (Pfeffer 332). The personification allows the readers to clearly visualize the paper. And it indicates Miranda’s frustration as she went after the paper. Therefore, it is clear that the big idea of hope has evidently become a