My Conclusion

For my conclusion this book was a great book to read and i am so happy that i chose this book. For me to actually read a book it is very hard because if i am not interested i will make up any excuse and procrastinate big time just so that i don't have to read the book. But this book mad me want to read more and more just after the first page. I actually caught my self staying up late just to read more and more of it each night, as it only took me a total of three days to read the entire book.
Throughout the novel Sam finds out who she really is, she overcomes many obstacles and grows up. Sam made me as the reader question whether or not she really deserved to die. Many of the terrible things Sam had done to people are not half as bad as what other people have done so did she really deserve to die? people who murder others some of them get away with it or go to jail so why didn't they deserve to die but Sam did?
The only disappointment i had with this novel was that the ending i thought should of had more to it and more answers to my questions then what it did.
Altogether this book is confusing because Sam does die but then she wakes up the next day but really it isn't the next day, she's reliving her death again. So really, is she dead or is she alive? That is the question that still to this day is running through my head when i think about this novel.

Eye Opener

Reading this book is quite confusing, how can someone go from being dead and then wake up the next day and be alive again, but is also is a huge eye opener to girls who can relate to Sam in more then one way.
Sam cheats on quizzes, dates a popular jerk, flirts with her teacher hoping to get better grades, goes to drunken parties and ridicules losers. Her clique consists of popular girls and no exceptions, they rule their highschool with a sassy entitlement.
On page 18, this quote pretty much sums up Sam.
"So now I have first pick of everything. So what. That's the way it is. Nobody ever said life was fair."
This shows to the reader how spoiled, mean and rude Sam was until the say she died and got the chance to realize she had to change. Sam used to bully kids at school and her little sister Izzy at home who never did anything but try to help. Then when she finally realizes she needs to change and wants to be a good role model for Izzy, she gets her life back on track and lives for today, like it might be her last.
Sam flashes back to being the loserest of the loser back in middle school before she became popular. Her boyfriend, Rob used to be the meanest, and most rudest guys to Sam before she became more of a woman and started to become known as a popular girl. When Sam travels back in time she realizes that she should understand and sympathize for the loners, not criticize and bully them because not very long ago she used to be just like them.
Not many highschool girls realize that they are just like Sam. They are bullies. Many girls also know what it's like to be bullied and how you feel so awful afterwards. Juliet comitted suicide and more and more teenagers are begining to do the same, just because of bullying.

Lauren Oliver did an amazing job at getting the reader's attention and making them want more. As I was reading this book i couldn't help but wonder was is real life that Sam kept reliving the same day or was is just her imagination and she was actually dead and reliving this day over and over again. Every time Sam relives that day, she finds out more about the people around her, their lives, their secrets and their true self. In return she does a tremendous amount of soul searching herself, taking a hard look at who she is and what she is leaving behind. This makes the audience becomes aware of advice on hard lessons she's learning. Even though you read almost the same day over and over again, Oliver has done a great job with including small but big minor details that change the day every time. It forces the reader to have to read a lot more in depth and makes them think about how is this different from the last day. Not only does Sam turn into a better person then what she was at the beginning of the novel but she realizes who she became was not someone she wanted to be. Even though she used to be a very harsh mean teenager in order for everything to happen to her what did they we necessary. This novel also has many comical parts in it and is a very interesting read. All of the characters in this novel, I could personally relate to almost everyone in some way, whether it was the way i have acted or been treated, they are all very real life teenagers. The events that take place with all these characters are also very real life events, like how Sam firstly dies in a car crash because of a drunk driver, it is more then likely that everyone in this world knows of someone who has been involved in a crash with a drunk driver or has been the drunk driver.

Relationship between the Rich and the Poor

There is a clearly defined line between the rich wealthy people and the poor people in this novel. To start off it is not like in the story "The Garden Party" where the rich people don't work and don't include the poor people in their activities, it is more shown in the kids because when Sam goes to Kent's house for a party all her and her friends talk about is how they never knew how rich Kent's Family really was. It seems likes that's all they noticed. They seemed very shocked because Kent doesn't act better then everyone else, or acts like he's the coolest kid there is in school or treats people with less money differently like some of Sam's friends do. Most kids today are even like that in the way that they separate the rich from the poor.
If your a student in high school, like I am you would see how many of the kid's make friends with people of the same class as them. And usually the richest kid in the group is the most popular. The trends seem to be that the richer people tend to pick on people with less money as they make fun of their clothing, or the fact that they don't wear make-up because they can't afford it. how they don't wear the 'brand' name clothing and try too hard to fit in. No matter how hard they try to fit in they will never be the same as what the popular kids are because they will always know they don't fit in and feel like they don't belong.
Kids today get teased about almost anything and in this novel, the main character Sam and her best friends pick on almost anyone with a lower rank then them. Lindsay writes rude things on walls of the cafeteria, bathroom and hallways that everyone can see just to make her ego go up and feel better about her self. Lindsay even rights things on the wall that aren't remotely true. With Sam's group of friends they always have to be better then everyone else and rise above. They attempt to impress almost anyone and do whatever they can to make sure no one is better then them. Also they all come from the same class, rich.

In my book there are the stereotypical teenage high school girls, guys, drama and groups. First there's Sam and her friends, known to the entire school population including teachers as the popular girls that everyone knows and wants to be like. They have the perfect hair, bodies, makeup, all the new and expensive clothes and what seem to be perfect lives. Throughout the book though through Juliet we learn that Lindsay who everyone believes to be perfect used to wet the bed until she was 12 and did it once at girls scouts camp and blamed it on Juliet who used to be her best friend. Juliet and Lindsay never talked after that. Lindsay never once mentions that Juliet and her used to be the best of friends because Juliet is know as a pshyco in high school. It isn't until Juliet commits suicide that Lindsay tells everyone what used to be, and death.
Death is the main topic in this novel as all events that occur end in a tragedy of a terrible death. First of all Sam dies at the start in a car crash after getting into a vehicle with a drunk driver. Then Sam relives that day over and over again and in the end Juliet's the one who dies. Sam relives that night 14 times to try and solve as to why she had to die.

Archetypes

In "Before I Fall" there are many characters that play many different roles and portray various archetypes throughout the novel.
A hero is the protagonist and continues a journey from childhood to being an adult. Sam could be classified as the hero in this novel. During her childhood she was bullied and not so popular but growing up and changing she becomes on of the most popular teenagers in her school. Then she realizes how badly she had been treating everyone and changes and goes on a journey to change herself and the way she treats people and then she sets off to help save Juliet's life and tries to convince her to not commit suicide.
Death- Juliet dies. Although Sam was never close friends with Juliet and was always mean to her she feel uber bad because she could have been an impact into why Juliet killed herself. It also makes Elody, Lindsay and Ally change their way of acting towards other people.
The Wise Old man- would be Sam's mom throughout the novel she is always giving good and wise advice to Sam and her friends. When Juliet commits suicide she is the first one to comfort Sam and make her feel a lot better about what has happened. She is also always there for Samantha in good times and bad.

Dreams

One of the themes I have discovered about this books is dreams. In Before I Fall, Sam dies over and over again. Starts off every cupid day waking up then after school she goes to Ally's to get ready with Lindsay and Elody then ends up going to Kent's party. The first night she attends it with her friends and towards the end of the night they make fun of Juliet, they refer to her as the psycho and then they drive off in Lindsay's car and die in a terrible car accident. Then the next morning she wakes up and it's cupid day again.
The next night she goes to Kent's party and again Juliet calls them names, but instead of Sam throwing her drink in her face all she says is "You don't know me." But just like the night before they die in a car accident. But once again she wakes up and it's cupid day again. Sam goes to math class and flirts with Mr. Daimler, then after class they fool around. Sam asks Lindsay why she hates Juliet so much and Elody and Ally make fun of Sam for caring about Juliet, the psycho. They leave the party early and all go back to Ally's. Around two in the morning the phone rings and Juliet has committed suicide, blowing her head of in her room. Sam goes up to the bathroom and instead she finds herself looking through yearbooks and finds pictures of Lindsay and Juliet together, they were best friends in public school, but she doesn't question Lindsay about it. Another cupid day goes by and the same party Sam went to the past 4 nights occurs again but this time Sam tries to find Juliet to stop her from what she thinks she's about to do. Sam finds Juliet out at the road this time and she jumps out into the oncoming traffic and a car kills her.
Sam has the same day everyday and she relives it and changes what she thinks causes her death so that she won't die. She also tries to help Juliet and realizes how bad of a person she has been to peers in high school, like Juliet and Kent. She realizes she has been a huge bully.