Analysis Of Lester Furnival In All Hallows Eve And Mia Hall

Lester Furnival from the novel All Hallows’ Eve and Mia Hall from the film If I Stay have difficult decisions in order for their out of body experience to end. In All Hallows’ Eve, Lester “was entirely cut off: she was dead” (Williams 9). After the plane crash Lester was in, she figured out that she was dead. She knew she could not live again. As a result of Lester’s death from the plane crash, she did not get to choose between life or death. Lester’s difficult decision is between good and evil. In order for Lester to end her out of body experience, she has to decide if she wants to be a better person than the person she was before the plane crash. Or if she wants to be a sinful person, but worst than what she was before the plane crash.

During Lester’s immortal encounter, she learned that she was not as kind-hearted as she thought she was. In the novel, Lester is described as a “good-natured woman” (Williams 19). Lester thought she was a loving human being, but she soon realized that she was nothing close. She was a materialistic woman. She thought that women needed to have the prettiest clothing, shoes, and purses. In life, Lester cared about her appearance more than anything else. In death, Lester realized that her appearance means nothing. “Lester knew exactly what she had better do, and with an effort she did it” (Williams 19). After finding out about how selfish Lester is; she knew she had to change and put effort in to do so. Lester started caring for others in the novel. For example, Lester was never a true friend to Evelyn until her out of body experience. During which, Lester began to help her out when she was in tough situations. Lester started being a friend, by this she started helping Evelyn with the evil that hunted Evelyn. “In Lester’s mystical process of purification, she loses her self-centeredness” (Anderson 314). Lester’s out of body experience is a purification process that results in her losing her self-centeredness. Not only did Lester learn life lessons, Mia did as

The obvious difference is that Lester and Mia were taught two diverse lessons. Lester was taught not to be like the person she was before the plane crash and out of body experience (Anderson 311). The reasoning for this is because Williams wanted to show that “human beings become more themselves in death” (Anderson 314). Unlike Lester, Mia was taught that life choices are important. In If I Stay, Mia says, “Sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you.” What Mia means is that sometimes one makes choices, but sometimes choices make a person change. R.J. Cutler wanted to show that the toughest choices can change a person’s outlook on life. Not only were Lester’s and Mia’s lessons two different lessons, but also the life lessons were taught in a different way. Lester’s lesson was given to her in order for her to end her out of body experience and join the dead. Lester “was entirely cut off: she was dead” (Williams 9). Lester died before she could ever change herself in life. Williams wanted to show that “an individual 's defining characteristics become fully actualized in death and is shaped by their evil or good intentions” (Anderson 314). This means that Lester was intended to become an evil or good person because of her lifestyle before her death. Lester’s characteristic shaped her personality and pureness in death. However, Mia’s lesson gave her a chance to change in life