Over the years of my adolescence I personally have felt the need to run away at
times. I have felt that in order for people to perceive me a certain way I must
behave in a certain manner. It got to a point where I just did not care about
anyone's opinion about myself but my own. In Melanie Rae Thon's novel, Iona
Moon, the main character Iona thought in the same way as I did. At one point in
her adolescence she felt that she needed to act a certain way so that people
would like her. She also felt that running away from her problems was the best
solution. However, in the end, she just did not care anymore. Iona Moon was a
simple country girl. She lived in an isolated rural town of White Falls, Idaho.
Her house was located in the country called the Kila Flats. She had three older
brothers and lived with her mother and her father. She attended the public
highschool located in town. Iona grew up as a very promiscuous girl. She had the
notion that if she gave the boys what they wanted that they would like her more.
The boys thought she was easy and none of the good ‘catholic' girls would talk
to her. In my opinion she probably grew up this way as a result of the constant
molestations from her brothers when she was younger. At first she cared what the
boys said about her. However, at one point in time she just did not care
anymore. She just ignored what everyone said about her. As long as she still had
her best friend Jeweldeen (who was also a country girl) by her side then
everything was ok. Her promiscuous ways got her in trouble from time to time.
She just did not care anymore. After her mother died, Iona became a different
person. She never liked school but after the death of her mother she just did
not even attend anymore. She failed her senior year and did not graduate with
her class. She was tired of being a slave to her father and her brothers. She
had much recent towards her brothers for treated her the way they did. Give her
a nickel to strip for them and a quarter to sleep with her, and to top it all
off they did not even thank her for the dinners that she made or the way she
tended to the house. Iona was angry at her father. He witnessed how the boys
would treat her and never said anything. Once in a while he would give them a
little look and they would be quiet, but that was all. After her graduation she
decided to pick up and go. She had no idea where she was going to go. She took
all the grocery money and hitchhiked a ride. Along the ride she thought of many
things. She thought of her best friend and she thought of how her brothers and
her father were going to react to the fact that she had left with all the money.
She thought about her mother the most. Everything her mother had taught her
about life. Everything her mother had done to her while she was growing up.
Nevertheless, she did not care. She did not write to them because she did not
want to be found. She was running. Running away from all her problems, form all
her misery. In her mind that was the best solution to everything. The theme to
this novel is adolescence. Everyone struggles through adolescence. In
adolescence people try to find themselves. They try to find out their purpose in
life and why they are here. Most of all people have many inner conflicts. Iona
Moon struggled greatly through adolescence. She struggled to find her true self.
She mentality about life and about her self changed many times throughout the
story. She thought she needed to act a certain way so people would like her.
Being fake brought her happiness for a while but in the end it hurt her greatly.
Even when she went out to live on her own she struggled. Living in a strange
room in a strange city was not exactly what she had in mind. However, she saw
herself as an independent person and, with all the lonely nights she had she had
time to think and find her true self.