Susan Pfeffer's "Life As We Knew It"

688 Words2 Pages

In Susan Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It, life for Miranda and her family comes to a screeching halt after a meteor collides with the moon, triggering calamitous natural disasters. After the initial tragedy, humanity is left with unanswered questions, to which no one seems to have answers for. As a result, Miranda must forget about her normal, mundane life and focus on the hardship ahead of her and her family. With her world collapsing around her, she is left with choices and responsibilities that affect her loved ones as much as herself. Through literary devices, Pfeffer emphasizes the emotional struggles and physical battles Miranda must surmount before and after the misfortunate collision. Prior to the meteor, Pfeffer initially characterizes Miranda as an average teenager that embodies selfishness and apathy, but later reveals that these attributes do change. Before life becomes utter chaos, Miranda spends her time worrying about the things in her life like having “enough money for…skating lessons” (8) or “spen[ding] the weekend working on an english paper” (10). When Miranda is of...

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