About Everything, Everything

In Everything, Everything, Madeline, the female protagonist, plagued by a rare disease called SCID, was too feeble to ever leave the house due to her innate immune system defect. Up until the day a boy named Olly moved to the next door, she was used to leading a lonely life in the disinfected house. By chance they started to chat online. After they fell in love with each other, she even went on a vacation with Olly secretly, yet ending up in a hospital. However, because of this episode, she found the discrepancy between her symptoms and the certificate of diagnosis. Madeline eventually discovered that she didn’t suffer from the disease. Suddenly, the world was wide-open to her.

I was amazed by how Madeline developed herself despite her hampered life. She occupied herself with reading books, learning to build housing models, etc. She strove to lead a colorful life, which is what I admire her the most. I was especially poor at PE when I first entered high school. When it was PE class, I was crippled by fear and frustration. Somehow, Madeline’s story popped into my head. If she could persevere under such dire circumstances, so could I. So, I convinced myself to hang in there. Though physics activities are still my Achilles heel, I have proved that I can exert all my strength to overcome obstacles.

To me, Everything, Everything is a story about struggles between hope and risks. Madeline cherished the hope of leaving the house and experiencing a normal life, but had to take the risk of getting infected by the outside world. While death could be the most horrifying consequence she had to face, going back to the locked, suffocating room after she got a taste of love was downright torture. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that she embraced love.

As for the love Madeline had for Olly, it’s unadulterated. Madeline was incapable of leaving the room at first, while Olly could move away anytime if tired of such a relationship. Since Olly, Madeline’s object of affection, also symbolized the wonderful world, it was not only Olly but also freedom she fell for. For Madeline, Olly was like sunlight shining into her isolated heart, and the white room eventually became monotonous and unbearable. She started to crave love and freedom. Her relationship with Olly might not last long, but she refused to endure the lonely life again. In that case, Madeline was a gambler who counted on Olly to inject a breath of fresh air and a ray of hope into her withered life.

Truth be told, no one has a perfect life, but because of love, we are somehow complete. Olly himself didn’t have a harmonious family, which was opposite from Madeline’s simple but warm surroundings. They were different, but their minds were in sync. Their passion of love depicted by the author was dazzling. Indeed, when in love, people never seem mature. Young lovers with unrealistic desire in particular can hardly be stopped by the prospect of dangers. Interestingly, this sometimes makes the unimaginable things come true. Madeline never thought of the possibility of getting rid of SCID, but she was free at last. Indeed, if Madeline never attempted to break free, there would be no chance for her to change her future. It was love that made her courageous enough to embark on a quest for a brighter world. Without love, she would be imprisoned in the disinfected yet desolate house forever.

It is true that Madeline put herself in a dangerous situation without thinking enough. Nevertheless, if she were deterred by the possibilities of losing love and a secure life, she would never be liberated from SCID. I am ambivalent about the intricate perspectives of my own, yet it is exactly what the story has fascinated me so much. Bravery could lead to sorrow, but it could also lead to the entrancing scenery. I am not an advocate of gambling, but the story had me pondering deeply about the need to take risks for a better future.