“The Sun is Also a Star” represents adolescence through the utilization of youth lenses such as: Characterization, Plot, Setting, Metaphor, and Theme. The youth lens we will address here is themes. Specifically, a theme often seen in YAL novels which develops their characters from adolescence into young adulthood, passion vs. reason. However, unlike other YALs where characters grow from relying on passions to relinquishing to reality and reason, protagonists Natasha and Daniel from “The Sun is Also a Star” learn they do not need to relinquish either their reason or passion for this one day romance. Instead, they learn the parallels of their reason and passion can compliment each other rather than cause conflict. As the end shows, Natasha and Daniel compromise and find middle ground between being practical in a finically stable job and pursuing their passions, such as being together and finding a career path they can find happiness. In this way, the text has subverted the idea of adolescence being a destruction and ending of childhood and dreams; it shows instead a different kind of maturity where our protagonists do not have to sacrifice their happiness like their parents before them, like Natasha’s father Samuel. Through Natasha and Daniel’s romance, the text argues passion and reason can coincide to a creative compromise, just as the world is never just black and white; there are more options than we realize. Choosing between passion and reason is not what makes us adults; it’s how we balance our lives with them that shapes us into the adults we become, hopefully we choose a balance that allows us, like Natasha and Daniel, to become happy and financially stable.
Jellyfish Melodies 