Five Feet Apart
By:Rachael Lippincott
Companion book
By: Harshita Rai
Note: I am posting the whole book in parts. This part has ch 4,5, and 6. To read the previous chapters, check out my other posts. The next part will have ch 7 and 8.
Chapter 4
Is Stella a Normal Kid?
Have you ever considered Stella’s life outside of the hospital? What are her problems besides her disease? Isn’t Stella’s life complicated in general. Imagine Stella as a normal kid in middle school. It’s pretty hard to imagine that so in this chapter Stella’s complicated life will be better explained.
As long as Stella has had CF, she has never been able to be a “normal” kid. She has missed out on many school trips. She has to go to the hospital even when she gets a little cold. As a CFer, so much is taken away from her. She lives every single day according to treatments and pills. Stella can’t even touch the love of her life and is probably never going to be able to have children. She isn’t allowed to fall in love with other CFers, like Will and isn’t allowed to be near him. The golden rule has always been, “Six feet at all times”. So after all that CF has stolen from her, she is stealing something back. In the book Stella says, “I’m stealing three hundred and four point eight millimeters. Twelve whole inches. One f***ing foot of space, distance, length”(Lippincott 172). Cytosis Fibrosis will no longer steal from Stella. From now on, she will be the thief. This means that Stella just stole one foot from her disease. The golden rule was to be six feet at all times, but Stella just stole a foot, so now it’s five feet at all times. This might not mean a lot to people who haven’t read this book but people who did, would understand how much a whole foot means to CFers. Stella is a strong person and not one to give up easily. Even when things got tough, she kept positive. Not all that but she has inspired so many other people from her YouTube channel. So many people she doesn’t even know look up to her and are inspired by her. Her whole life she has thought of her disease as something that will just always be there and take from her but now she is fighting back and taking revenge.
Chapter 5
Lippincott’s Strategies to Create Tension
The author of Five Feet Apart created empathy in readers. It made them feel different emotions at different times and it created more meaning and depth to the book. The author did this by using flashbacks, symbolism, and tone. To understand Lippincott’s strategies, read Chapter 5 and reflect on it.
The author of the book Five Feet Apart, Rachael Lippincott used many different strategies to create tension and suspense in her novel. These strategies include symbolism, flashbacks, and tone/mood. For example the author uses symbolism when the main character, Stella, describes her teddy bear, Patches, which she had for a long time. Stella has had patches since the day she first came to the hospital. Her sister Abby bought it for her at the hospital’s gift shop and from that day on, Patches has been with Stella for every surgery and the most painful treatments. Patches symbolizes a long-time friend or a memory of Stella’s sister. The character of the stuffed animal can always be overlooked, but Lippincott’s strategy to show symbolism can actually help readers picture Stella’s past and memories, even though the reader might not realize it until they actually dive deeper into the book.
Another strategy the author used while writing this book are flashbacks. Flashbacks can be used to help readers understand the character’s past, it could be something related to future events, or the character could be reminiscing to create empathy in readers. One moment in the book where Stella has a flashback is when she finds out she is going to have surgery and realizes that it’s her first surgery without her sister. Stella remembers when before every surgery, Abby would sing her special song to Stella and support her in every moment of pain or uncomfort. This flashback was used to help readers understand Stella’s past to show the importance of Abby’s role in Stella’s life. Another reason the author could’ve used this flashback was to create empathy in readers. This flashback could’ve been used to show Stella’s grief and fear of living the rest of her life without her sister. This flashback was also there to hint at the fact, which would later be emphasized in the book, that Stella was a fighter and she wouldn’t give up easily.
In the beginning of the book, Stella is excited for her friends, who are going on a trip with the school to Cabo. Stella isn’t able to go because of her disease but so far she doesn’t show any signs of sadness or longing. Stella helps her friends pick out swimsuits and they talk about taking pictures and the weather in Cabo. As soon as Stella’s friends leave the room her tone completely changes. In the text it states, “My smile fades as I close the door and see the old family picture pinned carefully to the back of my door”(Lippincott 8). The author’s strategy to change tone was to show readers how Stella really feels about the trip. In reality she wishes that she could be there with her friends but being the selfless person she is, she doesn’t let her feelings out in the open to ruin her friends’ fun. All this positivity that she was showing when her friends were here was obviously fake but she did it for the sake of her friends. Even though Stella’s friends don’t know about her feelings, the author puts in the mood change to help the reader understand Stella. As you can see, Rachael Lippincott was very careful about crafting this book and her strategy choice helps readers understand the main character’s past, present, and maybe the future. Symbolism, flashback, and mood are all very strong strategies presented in this book to get a deeper knowledge to analyze the story but these are only three types of strategies. Throughout the book, there are craftier ways that the author makes Five Feet Apart, an interesting and engrossing novel.
Chapter 6
The Significance of the Hospital
Have you ever given a thought to the significance of the hospital? The hospital can be overlooked by readers who don’t look close but this setting is very important to the book. This is the setting of not only where the story takes place but Stella’s home away from home. To continue learning about the hospital read Chapter 6.
Early in the book when Stella has to go back to the hospital, she doesn’t really mind. She has been going to the same hospital and has had the same nurses even since she was first diagnosed. This hospital isn’t just a hospital to Stella. It’s her home away from home. The first time the hospital was mentioned was right at the beginning of the book. Stella tells the readers about the people in her life. The only good part about being diagnosed was that she met her best friend and met so many new people which she came to love. The hospital is a symbol of home and a special place for Stella. The hospital holds many good memories and bad memories. It’s the place where she met her best friend Poe and where she got her teddy bear Patches. A home doesn’t always have to be an actual house. Home is an enjoyable, happy place where you can live, laugh and learn. It’s somewhere where you are loved, respected, and cared for. For Stella the hospital is her home. It’s where she has gone through all her happy and sad moments.
Another time the hospital is mentioned in the book is when Will watches Stella’s YouTube videos and realizes that Stella has been in the same hospital for her entire life, unlike him. He finds out that is why Stella knows this entire place so well and seems to know all the kids and nurses in the hospital. The symbolism that the hospital is actually Stella’s other home is shown here. Stella knows every nook, passageway and passcode in the hospital. Will understands how important this place is to Stella but it’s not exactly the hospital but the people here with her. The hospital is a symbol of love. Stella’s actions and personality makes everyone love her and support her through anything. The hospital and the people in it also give Stella hope and support. That is most likely the reason why Stella is so caring and strong. In this place, Stella found hope that one day she might get better and live a life she has always dreamed of.
The last place the hospital’s importance is mentioned in this novel is at Will’s birthday party when Poe and Stella are sharing stories of their friendship and the mischief they got into at the hospital. The hospital is a place where Poe and Stella’s friendship developed and got stronger. This last piece of evidence confirms my belief that the hospital is an important symbol in this novel. The hospital will always occupy a special place in Stella’s heart. At Will’s birthday party Poe and Stella reminisce over the best moments. They have flashbacks to the adventures they had and the trouble they got into together. Not only that but the relations they built over the years with nurses. Everyone has a place where they feel like they belong and fit in. For Stella, that place is this hospital. God knows what would have happened to Stella if she hadn’t gone to this exact hospital and not known the people she knows. She might not have even survived. As you can see, the hospital is a very symbolic place which reveals a lot about Stella and her past. It is her home away from home.