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Character Analysis Of Harper's Stepsister By Harper Miller

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Harper Evans, a high schooler, whose parents recently divorced hopes to escape her home life by joining a program to rebuild houses of tornado victims in a small Tennessee town. After her parents’ divorce, Harper and her close stepsister, Tess, grow distant because they disagree on who's at fault for the divorce. Along with donating her summer to building houses in heat-scorched Tennessee, Harper meets a boy named Teddy. She plans to evade her troubles at home by building a house but, instead is reminded of her family and home life throughout the process. Harper faces multiple conflicts with her changing life but the biggest is the distance between her and her sister.
Throughout the novel, the main Character, Harper Evans, transitions …show more content…

Its tone is described by longing for something better, however, the mood is sorrowful for her and her family. The author gives an allusion about global warming which is a motif throughout the novel. An example of this can be found in, “The world is drowning. Sinking. It’s being swallowed up. Glaciers are melting. Oceans are rising. It’s an indisputable fact: We’re ruining the planet” (1). The rebuilding of a house symbolizes the rebuilding of a family and the rebuilding of a relationship between two sisters.
The major theme of the novel focuses on, relationships. The quote, “I have a theory that as long as you have one good friend, one real friend, you can get through anything”(95). Not only does it represents the major theme but also is a life lesson that quality is always better than quantity. One of the minor themes is mental and physical isolation from her home and family. An example of this is, “But no matter what happens, the earth keeps turning. Monday always comes and eventually, sometimes excruciatingly slowly, that Monday is followed by a Friday. You take tests, hand in papers you wrote at two in the morning the day they were due, and your shoes get worn out, and the pollen in the air increases so that you go through an entire package of tissues during the SATs, and you wander through the crowds at parties looking for Natalie Banks

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