THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS

The importance of being one's self

Stargirl was not comfortable changing to being more like everyone else. She changed because she knew how important it was to Leo that they be accepted by the other students. But, she preferred to be herself. To her personally, being herself was more important than being accepted by the other students.

The importance of knowing what is really important

Stargirl seemed to have her priorities in order. She knew what was important and acted accordingly.

The interconnectedness of everyone

When Stargirl attended the funeral of Anna Grisdale's grandfather, she was acknowledging the interconnectedness of everyone. She did not feel that only those she knew were important to her.

POINT OF VIEW

Archie Brubaker gives the author's point of view when, referring to Stargirl, he says She is, I think, who we really are.

QUOTES - IMPORTANT QUOTATIONS AND ANALYSIS

1) Page 2: It did not occur to me that I was being watched. We were all being watched.
(Leo, the narrator, speaking) Stargirl was doing the watching. She was looking for birthdays, and anything which would be a reason for doing something nice for someone.

2) Page 15: She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.
(Leo, the narrator, speaking) This is Leo's excellent description of Stargirl.

3) Page 32: ...she is one of us. Most decidedly. She is us more than we are us. She is, I think, who we really are. Or were.
(Archie Brubaker speaking) This is Archie Brubaker's description of Stargirl.

4) Page 35: You'll know her more by your questions than by her answers. Keep looking at her long enough. One day you might see someone you know,
(Archie Brubaker speaking) Archie is saying that something like Stargirl is in each of us. Although it may be dormant, it may not always be dormant.

5) Page 63: I was walking in the desert one night...and it just sort of came to me, fell onto me.
(Stargirl speaking) Stargirl is describing how she got her name. She is responding to a question from the Hot Seat jury.

6) Page 65: You don't always want to be the winner...do you?
(Stargirl speaking) Stargirl is responding to questions leveled at her by the Hot Seat jury regarding why she cheers for the other teams.

7) Page 66: I wanted to make friends.
(Stargirl speaking) Stargirl is answering a question regarding why she quit homeschooling.

8) Page 98: It was her Kevin. It was harmless.Weird maybe, but harmless. It was her.
(Leo speaking) Leo is trying to convince Kevin that Stargirl meant no harm when she cheered for other teams.

9) Page 102: You know, there's a place we all inhabit, but we don't much think about it, we're scarcely conscious of it, and it lasts for less than a minute a day....It's in the morning, for most of us. It's that time, those few seconds when we're coming out of sleep but we're not really awake yet. For those few seconds we're something more primitive than what we are about to become. We have just slept the sleep of our distant ancestors, and something of them and their world still clings to us. For those few moments we are unformed, uncivilized. We are not the people we know as ourselves, but creatures more in tune with a tree than a keyboard. We are untitled, unnamed, natural, suspended between was and will be, the tadpole before the frog, the worm before the butterfly. We are, for a few brief moments, anything and everything we could be. And then....we open our eyes and the day is before us, and...we become ourselves.
(Archie Brubaker speaking) Archie thinks that Stargirl is closer to that primitive part of herself than the rest of Mica is.

10) Page 177: Real? Oh, yes. As real as we get. Don't ever doubt that.
(Archie Brubaker speaking) Archie thinks that any differences between us and Stargirl come from outside forces.

11) Page 177: Star people are rare. You will be lucky to meet another.
(Archie Brubaker speaking) This is another allusion to us being changed by outside forces.

Edition used: Dell Laurel-Leaf (an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.) New York, May 2004