Will Mara Dyer Make It?

          “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” -Haruki Murakami 

          When things or changes happen people react to it impulsively. In fact, our feelings are what drives us to the decisions we make based on the situation itself. The book "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" by Michelle Hodkin is based on a seventeen year old girl named Mara Dyer with a special ability. When she realizes that she has this kind of power she freaks out emotionally and physically. Throughout the book, Mara Dyer fights through a battle with herself, the people she loves, and the people who don't really care about her. While she goes on with life she meets through a path of enigmas where she decides most of her life decisions right on the spot. As each-good or bad- event passes it changes Mara in some way and teaches her how to deal with problems by showing her the consequences.

          Bullying, or in other words, using superior strength or influence to intimidate someone, are events that happen all the time in our world. People get bullied everyday for things like looks, disorders, and friends. However, in return that one choice that victims make is something that can change them forever. For example, in "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" Mara got bullied at her new school by a popular girl named Anna. Anna exposed Mara in front of almost everyone in school by showing them her sketchbook which contained precious and secretive drawings. Anna did this because she was jealous of the attention Mara had from a guy named Noah, someone who Mara thought was weird and didn't like until later. Mara thought "The humiliation would be perfect, and she knew it." (page 167-170) In this situation, Anna is treating Mara in a way that made her feel insecure and small, which in other words, meant bullying. Many people in this world can do unfair things to innocent people who just want some space. Bullies tyrannize victims just because they want to or because they want something that the victims have, which in this case was Noah. However, bullying is not the solution to it. To add on, Mara had her situation dealt with generously. Thankfully and fortunately, Noah took Mara's side and defended her. He embarrassed Anna instead by saying, "My girl is talented." (page 170) Although, this made Anna even more jealous she stopped bullying Mara for a little while. Ultimately, Mara realizes that without Noah she wouldn't be able to go through such situations.  Moreover, I believe that sometimes people need each other and no matter how much they want to deny it when the situation comes they will reach out for help to that one person.

          Another example is when Mara's teacher "bullies" her. After Mara Dyer was late to class and corrected her teacher, Morales, for saying her name wrong, the teacher made her stand in front of the class and picked on her for every hard question. This was a form of bullying. She even gave Mara a F on her report card for no reason. This is something we can all relate to because in school sometimes teachers pick on us by purpose. They don't care if we didn't do anything wrong, but apparently we do. To add on, Mara was enraged by this unjust situation so she wished for her teacher to die. When her teacher did die, she finally began to notice her special power- to make people die the way she thought of them to. Mara finally realized that she shouldn't have wished for her teacher to die. Just because she gave her a bad grade she shouldn't have wished for her to die. This made Mara realize that she should be careful for what she wishes for. Moreover, I believe that many teenagers in this world wish for many nasty and horrible things to happen to their despised person. It is something our mind does automatically which can sometimes be hard to stop.

          To accept life, you need to accept death. Many people don't want to die and when someone does die everyone somehow gets affected by it. As we all know something that has a beginning has to also have and ending. In this book, Mara's boyfriend, Jude, and her friends, Claire and Rachel, died due to the collapse of a building. This affected Mara very negatively. She dealt with this problem by having nightmares and hallucinations, even though it is quite obvious that there is no solution to death. Moreover, I believe that death is inevitable. It is something that almost everyone wished wouldn't happen to their loved ones. Even though we all know or will realize soon enough that we are mortal, people grief over death. Death is neither fair or unfair because no matter who it is, whether a good or bad person, everyone is going got die. Mara realized this soon enough and started to move on with her life. Her nurse even suggested her, "Distraction can be a good medicine." This can be applied in real life. When someone is trying to think about something besides a traumatic event, they try to distract themselves. Distracting themselves can make them think less about the tragic event which will create less tension.

          When you are in a troubled situation there will almost always be that one person who will worry about you. It doesn't really matter who, but that person will look over you, help you, and help you stay away from stressful problems. For example, in the book  Mara's mother started to hover over her for the past few months after the tragedy that occurred. She was always treating Mara with care, like any mother would. When Mara had a small nosebleed, her mom started freaking out. To add on, this type of situation is very common in our society because if a mother had a son or daughter who is in a terrible situation then obviously the mother would get paranoid. With this, Mara got annoyed but sooner she realized how much her mother cared for her. 

          What would a person do if he/she saw an abused dog? Would they run away? Or would they help? In "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" Mara found an emaciated dog, who looked like it had been through torture. She found the owner and asked him about it, but he said that it wasn't her business. The owner was abusing the dog. This can connect to the real world because torturing or abusing innocent animals is something immoral people can do. A lot of people do not stop to think and ask themselves, How would I feel if I was being maltreated without knowing why? Obviously, this situation was unjust for the dog. Mara dealt with this problem as a generous and caring person. She was worrying about the dog all the way to school and even during her classes. She called the Animal Control Office to complain about the neglected dog. Mara wanted the dog to be safe. If it was someone else then he/she would've left the dog to suffer, but Mara didn't. She stood up for the dog knowing that the lives of animals are just as important as the lives of human beings.

          Furthermore, "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" is a very compelling and interesting book where injustices take place. The events show our real life situations. It shows people how to react to it and find their way around it if it becomes a problem. It can change people in our world. While reading "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" I connected to many events by experiencing it or witnessing it. If not the problems shown in this book, every one of us were affected by at least one problem in our lives in many ways just like Mara Dyer. All in all, I have learned many things while reading this book. It made me understand how the consequences of a problem can affect me and how it can be dealt with.





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