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Alexis Quinones
Professor Jon Beadle
English 113B
4 April 2016
Nonconformity of Character Insertion
In the book "Everyday" by David Levithan, the main character A wakes up in a different
body everyday. A has to immediately figure out who he/she is, therefore, has to adapt to the
ideologies of the figures he/she is inside of while being himself/herself. When A transitions into
Justin's body, he/she falls deeply in love with his girlfriend Rhiannon. As A wakes up every
morning in a different persons body, A finds himself/herself chasing after her. A is not torturing
these souls, he/she is only trying to make Rhiannon feel loved. The problem is that A is not the
embodiment of that human body, thus, generating A to lose the right to make decisions for them.
Someone who is a nonconformist is a person whose behavior or views do not conform to
prevailing ideas or practices. A is a nonconformist because he/she fails to prevail the identities of
the bodies he/she goes into, by inserting his own character.
A defines his/her character by showing how compassionate he/she is towards Rhiannon.
A is always waking up in a new body. We, as the audience, want to see how he/she will adapt to
the life style he/she is being forced to deal with. We do not know if A is a boy or a girl, because
it is never confirmed in the book. With this speculation of what gender type is A, we assume A is
a boy because he/she is falling in love with a female named Rhiannon. We see A's true character
when his/her love and affection increases for Rhiannon, as he/she is always pushing to see her in

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person. Regardless of what body A wakes up in, he will always push to visit Rhiannon. When A
is unable to see Rhiannon, he/she will send her an email to give an advisement. A is a
nonconformist because of his/her own identity he/she implies when he transitions into different
figures. For example, all the frames A wakes up in, except for Justin, do not know Rhiannon. A
only knows Rhiannon because he/she spent a day in Justin's body. As the book continues, we
know A will be pushing to get to Rhiannon no matter what body he/she is in.
Justin and A hold two different beliefs. A has a difficult time being someone who he/she
is not. A does not know who he/she is exactly, however, A knows that he/she is himself/herself
in someone else's body. Different ideologies are presented to us through out the book. We do not
find out what A's actual ideology is until he shifts into Justin's body. A meets his girlfriend, and
begins to like her. When A is in Justin's body, he plays back some memories that Justin and
Rhiannon shared together. After observing there relationship, A knows that Justin is not treating
Rhiannon properly. A says "I want to give her a good day. Just one good day" (Levithan 11). A
wants to make sure Rhiannon is getting the right attention, therefore, decides to give her a good
day. Rhiannon begins to notice that Justin was different than how he usually is, but A resists to
tell her that he/she is not Justin. Justin and A have completely different perspectives. A is in love
with Rhiannon and wants to treat her well, while on the other hand Justin does not care about her.
By A shifting into Justin's body and forcing him to treat Rhiannon properly, A is failing to
prevail Justin's ideology. A allegedly changed Justin's ideology to make Rhiannon happy. A is a
nonconformist because he is violating Justin's ideology to what he holds towards Rhiannon by
implementing his/her own character.
A makes Nathan believe that he was possessed by a demon as he/she disobeys his
identity. When A alternates into Nathans body, he/she takes him to a party where Rhiannon will

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be at. A begins making up excuses in order to talk to Rhiannon as he/she gets to the party. When
A realizes that the party is over, he/she knows Nathan has to get home. A notices that Nathan
will not be arriving home on time as he/she is driving. Therefore, decides to leave Nathan on the
side of the road in his car. A knows that Nathan will be getting into trouble and chooses to fall
asleep. A leaves Nathans body as he/she falls asleep. Nathan remembers everything the next
morning, and decides to report it. Nathan's issue ends up going to the local news with a claim
that he was possessed by a demon. A began to violate Nathan's ideology, as soon as he started
planning a way to see Rhiannon. When A wakes up into Nathan's body, he realizes that Nathan is
not the typical teenager. A can visit the past memories of the figures he goes into. A knows that
Nathan is a nerd, and not a sociable person. A states "That cool?' I ask, figuring it will make
Nathan even less threatening if he's gay." (Levithan 72). A pretended to act gay while being in
Nathan's body in order to get close to Rhiannon. Nathan does not know Rhiannon or anyone at
the party. He does not have any reason to be there at all. A did not think about the ideology of
Nathan's personal aspects, and still took him to a party. A did not give his/her acknowledgement
of respecting Nathan's personal aspects and inserted his character, therefore, making A, a
nonconformist.
A only cares about his/her self being. We notice that A is does not want to let Rhiannon
go. When A alternates into Amy Trans body, he/she kidnaps her and takes her to Rhiannon's
school. A claims "I have my cover story already: If anyone asks, I am checking out the school
because my parents might be moving to town." (Levithan 53). A has already came up with a lie
to cover up for Amy's presence at school. Amy Tran has no reason to be there at that school. She
is only there because A is in control of her body. A goes even further with inserting his/her
character when he tells Rhiannon "Tell me something nobody else knows about you', its

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something I always ask people." (Levithan 59). We clearly see here that this is A's character and
not Amy's. A fails to prevail towards Amy Trans ideology when he begins to ask questions for
his own self-being. Amy Tran does not even know Rhiannon personally, and her responses do
not matter to her. Because of A's selfishness he/she is violating Amy's life by making her get to
know someone she has never met before in her life hence, making A, a nonconformist.
A's identity causes him/her to not follow the ideologies of the bodies he inhabits. A wants
to be with Rhiannon, and will always seek a way of communication with her. In the article "Self
Identity and Culture" it says "The self has historically been understood as a stable, core set of
identities within a person that compromise that person's system for thinking and behaving"
(Jackson, Glenn, Williams 118). This quote means that there is no changing A's identity. A
falling in love with Rhiannon is the cause of A's thinking and behaving. A's identity is confirmed
as we see how he/she communicates with Rhiannon while being in different bodies. In the article
"Culture and Communication" it states "You manage your identities through your
communication" (Kurylo 4). This quote means that your interactions will define who you are. A's
communication with Rhiannon shows that he/she cares for her. A is a nonconformist because
he/she is letting his/her character override the ideology of the people he/she is inside of.
A has no right to do take control. A does not have the intentions to hurt these people.
He/she cannot help, but to take control over the bodies he/she wakes up in. A has not caused any
trouble throughout his/her times of shifting bodies. A does not want Rhiannon to be treated
improperly, therefore, A will not let the alternation of bodies interfere with her getting mistreated.
Its kind for A to be doing this for Rhiannon, but he does not have the right to violate peoples
ideologies. Justin holds a different perspective with his girlfriend Rhiannon and when A comes
along, Rhiannon thinks otherwise. A gave Rhiannon a good day, which Justin has not done. A

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failed to prevail towards Justin's hold. When A is inside Nathan's body, A knows he/she is
passing the boundaries. A states " Normally, I would take these parameters. Normally, I would
stay in Nathans safe zone." (Levithan 69). A failed to prevail towards Nathans views by taking
him to a party, pretending to be gay, and not taking him home on time. Amy Tran was forcibly
taken to another high school by A. A inserted his own character and started talking to Rhiannon,
when A does not have the justice of doing so. A failed to triumph towards Amy's life by getting
to know someone that has no importance to her. A is not killing anyone, but he/she does not have
the authority to insert his conscience in these bodies. This consequently makes A, a
nonconformist.
A's has his own affect. In the book "Multicentric Identities in a Globalizing World" it
says "Culture, personality, and the multiplicity of identity"( Valsiner, Gennaro, Salvatore 365).
This quote means that your surroundings, and self-character with cause you multiple identities. A
has to deal with different identities, but A has a hard time to doing so, as A's true identity is to
get to Rhiannon. Also in the book "Profane Culture" it says "to increase the hippy sense of selfimportance" ( Willis 162). This quote means to rise up self-character. A rises his/her selfcharacter by inserting his identity in the bodies he/she in habits. By a disrupting the ideologies of
the bodies, he/she is only making his self-character increase, therefor making A to be a
nonconformist.
Overall, A is not the soul of the body he/she inhabits. A does not have the right to be
making the decisions for them. By A inserting his/her own character in these figures, he/she is
failing to prevail to their identities, making A to be a nonconformist.

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Works Cited
Part I. introduction to Inter/Cultural Communication Chapter 1: Inter/Cultural Communication
"Culture and Communication" Anastacia Kurlyo Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2013
Published July 23, 2012
Part II. Distinguishing Self and Other Chapter 6: Inter/Cultural Communication "Self-identity
and Culture" Ronald Jackson, Cerise Glenn, and Kesha Williams Los Angeles: Sage
Publications, 2013 Published July 23, 2012
Levithan, David. Everday. N.p.: Random House Childrens Book, 2013. Print.
Multicentric Identities in a Globalizing World. Charlotte, NC: Information Age., 2014. Print.
Willis, Paul E. Profane Culture. Prinecton: Princeton UP, 2014. Web.