Character Development

Authors Note- This essay is about one of the main characters in the book Pretty Little Liars. It focuses on the different changes this character goes through from before her friend died, to after. 

     Imagine living a perfect life, you are pretty, popular, and are a part of a wealthy family. You feel as if nothing could possibly go wrong,  you are on top of the world. Except,  in the perfect life of Aria Montgomery, a character in the book Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard , a seemingly perfect life can get shattered in the blink of an eye. When Aria’s best friend, Alison, gets murdered she goes through many changes, making her a stronger and more independent person.

    

    Since Aria and Alison were known as the “popular girls” at their school, Aria was constantly under pressure to look the best, dress the best and impress everyone. Multiple times Alison would demand Aria to change parts about her, she even manipulated Aria into putting bright pink streaks into her hair. It made Aria look “a little less gothic” as Alison said. However, once Alison died Aria changed her outer appearance to fit her own style, she became more independent.  If Alison hadn’t lost her life, Aria would still be struggling to find ways to impress her and feel good enough for her best friend. Since Alison had such an impact on Aria’s life, her death was the catalyst that lead Aria to change her style.  

    Although Alison’s death  was the catalyst that made Aria rethink her look, Alison also had a toll on Aria’s relationship with her parents. Before Alison’s murder, Aria shut her parents out and wouldn’t let them in. She was like many other teenagers, and would constantly battle with her parents and overlook their signs of trying to connect with her. Aria even started impacting her parents’ marriage and they started to fight more. Yet after Aria learned that loved ones could disappear out of nowhere, she became closer to her family and began to open up to them. While she was friends with Alison she kept a vital secret from her mom about her dad which eventually slipped out once she became closer to her mom. She also became close enough with her mom to tell her that she was dating her teacher.  If Alison hadn’t left Aria’s life, Aria would’ve gradually become detached from her parents and shut them out completely.

    However, Aria isn’t alone because there are many different characters that are similar to Aria that push their family members away from them. In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton the main character, Ponyboy,  is constantly fighting with his older brother Darry. He believes that Darry considers him the unwanted child and a disappointment to the family. For instance Darry would always yell at Ponyboy if he didn’t get the best grades or if he forgot to clean his room. Ponyboy would always start arguing with him, turning it into a bigger problem. It took three deaths and a slap in the face to change Ponyboy’s opinion of Darry. Him and Darry are now closer, and aren’t as fast to jump to conclusions about each other. If Ponyboy hadn’t changed, him and Darry would still be fighting, causing chaos for their friends and unwanted stress on their shoulders. This change was an overall good change because Ponyboy and Darry are now more connected.

     Like Ponyboy and Darry, Aria and her parents eventually became closer, helping Aria become a stronger person. Before Alison’s death Aria was a typical sixteen year old who cried over little disputes with friends, or breakups with boyfriends. After Alison’s death Aria has become a stronger person, she has been able to not only deal with the death of her best friend, but also has coped while dealing with a treacherous stalker who knows all her secrets. She somehow manages to keep her cool and protect her loved ones from also becoming victims of this malicious person. If I was in Aria’s shoes, I would lose it and give the stalker complete control over me, which Aria would’ve done if she hadn’t grown stronger from the support of her family, or her the death of her best friend.  

   There are many things that would be different about Aria if Alison had never died.  She would still be a part of a perfect world where to everyone else she is pretty, popular, and rich. However, Alison did die and Aria has changed immensely because of it. Expressing herself, and opening up to her parents are some of the ways Aria changed due to Alison death, but overall she became a strong and independent human being.