Character Sketch Essay: Along For the Ride

January 11, 2011

Along for the Ride

Auden, an extremely smart and independent, yet socially challenged teenager, inherited her mother’s critical and judgmental personality.  Because of her lost childhood she grew up with a very mature nature; however, when Auden visits her dad for the summer she learns not only can she be sociable but even a little flirtatious as she makes friends and relives something she should have had years ago.  Making up for lost time and reliving a past she never had, Auden learns that she can be more than an exact replica of her shallow, self-centered, judgmental, incredibly intelligent mother.  Sarah Dessen illustrates the thrills of a lost childhood, the myth behind people changing, and one girl’s life-changing journey in arguably her best novel yet, ‘Along for the Ride’.

Auden West not only acts like her mother, but shares her mother’s looks too.  Her long dark curls, liberated attitude, and a deep critical overlook on life were all traits of her mother.  Auden kept to herself and didn’t make many friends because she could not relate to them.  “Because of this upbringing, I had kind of a hard time relating to other kids my age” (8). Despite these positive and negative elements Auden is a completely different person by the end of the summer.

Many events happen that change Auden, one of which being when her brother’s girlfriend comes into town.  She brings back with her a gift, which is a picture frame with Hollis, Auden’s brother, in front of the Taj Ma Hal that says on the bottom, “Best of Times.”  A harsh and terribly true reality dawns on Auden; she would have absolutely no pictures that could fit this frame, “They (referring to Hollis and her friends) probably had a million pictures that could fit in this frame, but I didn’t have a single one” (16).  She begins to realize that she has wasted her life on academics and trying to please her parents when she should have been a normal teenager.  This realization leads to a decision that triggers more life-changing events for Auden; she decides to stay at her dad and step-mom’s house.  “And just like that, my summer changed” (16).

During Auden’s first night at her step-father’s summer home she finds herself at a local hangout called ‘The Tip’.  She gets together with a boy named Jake, resulting in some trouble from Jake’s ex Maggie.  Maggie and Auden end up working together, “Maybe in the world of girls, this was supposed to be a turning point.  When we saw beyond our initial differences, realized we had something in common after all, and became true friends” (45).  Over the course of Auden West’s summer she learns that there is more to people than meets the eye.  Maggie came off to her as a stuck up girl who only cared about clothes and boys until she learned that Maggie is actually going to one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, with Auden.  Through Maggie, Auden also meets Eli, a boy dedicated to giving Auden the past she never had and even teaches her how to ride a bike.  Eli even jokes with her about how good she is getting at riding, “And here I thought you couldn’t ride a bike” (374)

What changed Auden West the most was the time she spent with her father.  She had always seen her father as the type of man who ran away from anything.  When things got to complicated he bailed out.  With his newborn baby of course things were chaotic and he tried to leave it all which broke Auden’s heart because her dad did the same thing to her.  Auden’s step mom Heidi makes this point very clear, “You have done this before Robert.  Twice.  You knew what it was like to have an infant in the house” (262).  Eventually Auden’s father did come back though and did not abandon his family again, “Sometimes, you get things right the first time.  Others, the second.  But the third time, they say, is the charm.  Standing there, a quitter myself, I figured I would never know if I did not get back on the bike, one last time” (369). 

By the end of Auden’s summer she discovers who she truly is.  She is not trying to be her mother, her brother, or taking bad habits from her father, but she is just herself and she learns that people love her for it, “Because it was obvious, this true difference in me now:  I had these experiences, these talks, more of this life” (361).  Because of her father’s rough summer with a newborn in the house Auden learns people can always change for the better and she should never expect the worst out of someone, “But I wanted to keep believing people could change, and it was certainly easier to do so when you were in the midst of it” (182).  Thanks to Eli, Maggie, and countless other friends Auden made along the summer she learns that she can still have a memorable childhood she always wanted, “…but mostly we disc5ussed making up for lost time, if such thing was possible” (89).  Auden West’s transformation is teaching us that people can change, second chances are real, it is never too late to find yourself, you can always make up for lost time, and if you fall off the bike get back on one last time because you are just along for the ride.