If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, is a fiction novel about a girl-- Mia-- who gets in a tragic car accident and looses her family because of it. Currently in the novel she is in a coma, however, she can still think and see as if she were awake and normal. So far, the most important line in this novel is when Mia realizes that it's up to her whether she lives or dies. She is thinking, "I decide. I know this now. And it terrifies me more than anything else that has happened today" (Forman 88). This line perfectly displays the main conflict in the story, which is person vs. self. Mia has to decide if she wants to wake up from her coma and live or just give up and die.
As the reader, I never completely contemplated how Mia was feeling about everything that had happened. I don't think she quite knew either. Think about it... just a normal day for one second, and then the next second your parents have died, your brother is dying, and you don't even know exactly how you are. There was confusion that Mia was having right after the text. She thought at first it was a dream, it just didn't seem real to her. That's why I wasn't exactly sure how she was feeling about the whole scene. Did she really know what was going on as well as the outcome of it?
Therefore, when the line on page 88 was said, I knew, and Mia knew, exactly what was happening. It really clicked with her what was going on and what she had to do about it... decide. This is the scary truth of what Mia has to do-- decide if she will end her life or not. In conclusion, when Mia realizes that she has to decide whether she will live or die, it is an extremely important part of the text. It is the point where Mia understands everything that has happened and the possible outcomes of it. Also, it shows the conflict (person vs self). Lastly, it gives a preview of what will happen in the rest of the story (Mia will decide).
