Elsewhere Character Analysis

In the novel Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, Liz is mentally shaken by one problem, the fact that she is dead. Along with this one ultimate challenge, she faces many more in Elsewhere while under the pressure and stress of her death. She makes some rash decisions that lead to unintended consequences, and some great choices that helped her out. She also made some friends and met some relatives that greatly had an impact on her. So, Liz grew stronger at working through her death with the help of friends, family, and her own decisions while in Elsewhere.

Towards the beginning of the book, Liz dies when she is hit and run over by a car while riding her bike to the mall. She wakes up on the S.S. Nile, and meets Thandi, a girl who was shot in the

After this incident they become great friends, and soon develop a love for each other. Owen and Betty both help Liz learn to like Elsewhere, and soon, Liz stops going to the O.D.s so often. She spends time with Owen, and her dog, Sadie. She does so well with this until she decides to become a Sneaker. She is wrapped in swaddling clothes and sent down The River, until she starts drowning and can’t swim back up. She is stuck down at the bottom of The River until Owen finds her. After this one incident, her afterlife goes by in a flash. She truly learned that Elsewhere isn’t as bad and isn’t as horrible as she had once thought it was. Here, she was happy and reacted to her problems in a bright manner. She had no pressure because she had let it all go.

As you can see, the way Liz faces pressure changed throughout the story, As she adapted more to Elsewhere and her new life, and with the help of her new friends and family, her pressure slowly eases off. Her decisions change as she realizes what is important to her in the moment. She lives her afterlife to the fullest and has a great time. This is all what happened when Liz started to make better (not rash)