Life
as We Knew It
When I was first
introduced to the characters, I thought it was a normal family. A family a
four, with three kids, and a mom is typical. The parents are divorced, but
everyone is still happy and fine. As I read through the book, it seemed to me
that the main theme of Life As We Knew It
is “helping your family survive.” This theme came into play when the asteroid
hit the moon and the world became chaotic. Survival and family brought everyone
together to try to push through this tragedy of the world.
The theme of “helping
your family survive” is explained when Miranda, Jonny, Mrs. Nesbitt and their
mom went to the supermarket to get as much food as they could. “Here, Miranda, take this,’ mom said, and she
handed me an envelope. I looked inside
it and saw ten $50 bills” (Pfeffer 32).
Miranda now knows how serious it became when she saw that large amount
of money given to her for food. Miranda’s mom told her to grab as much food as
she could and put in the cart. When they put all of the food in the car, Jonny
and Miranda were told to go back for seconds. Miranda realized how important this food was
to the family’s survival.
The theme of
survival is also shown when Matt starts almost obsessively chopping down trees
for firewood. The realized they cannot rely on the power company, so they have
to make due on their own. “Matt decided to chop down a tree” (Pfeffer 110). Instead, he started chopping down tons of
trees. He told Miranda to gather kindling. Everyone was relying on their family
to maintain a certain job for the remainder of the tragedy. Everyone had to
help each other out in order to survive.
When winter approached,
they were hoping for snow to use as a water source. A blizzard came one day and the mom told the
children to find containers to put the snow in. “One good thing, ‘ I said. ‘If there’s any kind of accumulation we’ll
have a water supply” (Pfeffer 257). The family had enough water to feel
comfortable about survival.
When Miranda’s
family became seriously ill with the flu, Miranda went in search of
medicine. She discovers that there is no
medicine to cure her family. “We ran over to him and saw he was delirious,
crazed with fever” (Pfeffer 294). She
realizes that she needs to keep her family well fed in order to help them fight
off this illness. Miranda now knows that
the food supply rationing has weakened her family.
At the end of this
novel, I now understand that the theme “helping your family survive” is
intertwined throughout. Miranda rises to
the challenge of having an important role in this. She understands how crucial cooperation,
motivation and determination are in order to stay alive.
Pfeffer, Susan
Beth. Life as We Knew It. Orlando: Harcourt, 2006. Print.
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