— makes picking passing a particular and legitimate plausibility. This is what families do. Much of the book takes place in Mia Hall's mind while she is in a coma, her memories swirling around her. Other characters have important choices to make as…, The characters in If I Stay are connected by a deep love and respect for music. Music as a Separating and Joining Force Music works incomprehensibly in Gayle Forman's On the off chance that I Remain, isolating the characters along lines of individual taste, character, and perspective. Course Hero. Your house *might fall into a sinkhole. For instance, Mia's folks, her beau Adam, her closest companion Kim, and by far most of her family's dear companions have a fondness for exciting music. Her preference for old style music persists to her inclination for conventional dress. Through this conflation of disaster and love, possibility and will, Mia’s experience uncovers a key truth about decision: However we can’t generally pick the catastrophes that drastically transform us, we can pick how to react to catastrophe. Her grandfather, despite his desire for her to live, gives her permission to die. freebooksummary.com © 2016 - 2020 All Rights Reserved. However, love can also complicate these decisions, and can sometimes be the very thing that must be sacrificed. Although they die in the early pages of the book, Mia's immediate family members live on throughout the novel in Mia's memories. However, in the end she realizes that she must make the decision herself. Rock and Roll is customarily the music of rebelliousness, and both Mia’s folks looked to defy cultural foundations and qualities that they found bygone. Forman's portrayal of the orchestra camp, Adam's band, and Mia's father's band, show that someone who plays an instrument and is willing to share will always have family. Adam was a big part of her staying because he encouraged her to stay, and he wrote her a song just for her too. Gayle Forman's If I Stay tells the poignant story Mia, who falls into a coma after a horrific accident that causes the death of her parents and brother. Accessed October 24, 2020. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/If-I-Stay/. Mia's friendship with Kim was complicated by how they initially treated each other as enemies due to their similarities. Forman shows this by focusing on the other big choice Mia must make. Adam and Kim, who have never really liked each other, work together to help Mia. Oddly, music likewise makes pressure in her association with Adam. "Love can decide between life and death" is a constant theme that occurs thoughout the entire story. Music functions paradoxically in Gayle Forman’s If I Stay, dividing the characters along lines of personal taste, personality, and worldview. Her parents die instantly, and her younger brother, Teddy, dies in the hospital. (2019, July 26). At its core, If I Stay is predicated on one decision: whether, after the car accident that kills her parents and brother and puts her in a coma, … We have tutors online 24/7 who can help you get unstuck. But Mia understands that there is a difference between the love strengthened by a lifetime of family bonds and the love she has cultivated with her boyfriend. "If I Stay Study Guide." By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our, read analysis of Love, Family, and Relationships. Like her memory of the family Work Day grill show at which Mia went with her dad and sweetheart’s guitars with her cello, music is a binding together image that at last connections dissimilar individuals, characters, and ways of thinking in blissful congruity. This ambition is what wakes her up. Gayle Forman, the author of the book, shows a love story hidden under the mess of a tragic family car accident. 26 July 2019. Thus, characters in the novel must balance making decisions for the sake of love, while also understanding and learning when they must let…, At its core, If I Stay is predicated on one decision: whether, after the car accident that kills her parents and brother and puts her in a coma, Mia decides to stay alive, or whether she decides to die. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. She still has ambitions of going to New York and studying cello at Juilliard. July 26, 2019. It will stay with her and help her find family. She has to decide whether to stay in Oregon with her family and Adam or go to school in New York to pursue a career in music.