“‘No’ he said sighing. ‘But you’re going to have to find your own way out’”
This quote is from the book Story of a girl by Sara Zarr. I picked this line specially from the book because I think it shows not only the authors main idea, and represents the characters journey; but also is relevant to lessons we learn in life, and times many seem to experience in the world. In this book Deanna Lamberts life is changed in a second, when her father catches her in the back of an older boys Buick. Nearly every day she struggles to deal with the cold and judging attitude her father has adapted since then, and her horrible reputation this incident has given her. I believe that this quote represents the author’s main idea because it is able to show the obstacles she must overcome and how she must learn to do it on her own. The theme of this book is overcoming and finding out how to let go of a past that is keeping you back. The quote symbolizes these things, because it shows that even if Deanna wants nothing more than to leave what has happened behind, her cold father, the nasty remarks at school, she can’t just get up and walk away from it all, she must seek another way to solve the problem. It shows that running will do no good, and that she can’t expect someone to lift her up when she is weak, eventually everything will catch up to her and she will have to find her own solution.
This quote is also able to represent the journey the character goes through in the book and the change she is able to make. In the beginning Deanna lambert is frustrated and angry with all that has happened; she is bitter and fearful of the whole experience and the way it still seems to carry on in her own life. She continuously at first accuses and blames her father, she lashes out at people who make pointless remarks, and she runs from anything that seems to remind her of that night. To deal with all of this, she depends on her brother and his girlfriend to one day leave and take her with them, to save her from the life she lives; she reaches out for comfort in her best friend Jason… sometimes in the wrong way. Though pretending to act strong and independent, inside she is still that little 13 year old girl, who was weak and wanted to be pitied and praised. By the end though, Deanna is able to let go of the anger she has stored up inside of her, she is able to clear her head let it all out, and face her problems head on, instead of trailing on the feet of her older brother, trying to match the footprints he left behind, her own not quite matching. This relates to the quote because it shows how she is finally realizing that other people can’t save her, she has to save herself.
Finally this relates to world, because it is a lesson we all eventually learn. Often when faced with problems, we choose to run, to hide, instead of standing up and dealing with them as they come. It is a natural thought to want to escape, wishing there was a back door to flee out of when the world throws hurdle our way, but more often than not it is not always the logical way of thinking. It’s okay to lean on others when our legs seem to give way, or crave the comfort of those around us when we go through a time of grief, but there is a point where we must stop ourselves and stand on our own. The simple need for comfort is not an escape, nor a solution; it is simply a fake way to feel better, like everything is okay. But our past will eventually catch up to us; the pain will soon again be rested on our shoulders, the burden placed upon our backs. We must learn to stand, to find a solution no matter how impossible this may seem, because eventually we all need to find our “own way out”
