The narrative delves into the themes of fate and destiny, primarily through the relationship between Daniel and Natasha. The story employs foreshadowing with the Japanese phrase "koi no yokan,"
This picture symbolizes how fate/destiny sets you on a static path for life.
FATE AND DESTINY
Connections
Text to Self: Throughout my life, I have experienced events which I could not explain, events that seemed extremely lucky, and events that seemed as if they were meant to take place. Some events were negative and greatly impacted me at the time, however, I later learned that they taught me valuable lessons. There were also events that seemed to have enough luck involved that they seemed impossible, yet, they still occurred. In the grand scheme of my life, it was very unlikely that I would end up in this position. There was a sequence of events that took place which resulted in my current situation, it was very unlikely that I would have interests in Math or Science, frankly, I was a bad student, yet, I learned about the methods and practices that were required to succeed. This knowledge came from failure which at the time, made me feel like the unluckiest person alive. This connects to Daniel and Natasha’s situation, they were cursed with bad luck and their relationship was ripped apart due to Samuel Kingsleu’s mistakes. However, they eventually found each other thanks to fate.
Text to Text: In time many find themselves victim to fate and destiny, this idea of fate as well as destiny is easily brought up in many texts throughout English literature. A great example of this idea of fate being pre-written is prevalent in the comic series, tv show, as well as movie called The Flash written by Gardner Fox, Harry Lampert. Throughout the story of The Flash it was shown in many circumstance that the characters were to undergo many tragic events that were foreseen by the characters due to the protagonist having supernatural powers allowing him to see into the future. Through the story of The Flash as we learn more and more about the protagonists power we are presented with the idea of the pre-written fate that the characters are forced to change. The novel The Sun is Also a Star written by Nicola Yoon presents the idea of fate in a different manner but still presents it none the less. The protagonists of Nicola Yoon's novel being Natasha and Daniel, fall in love with each other in only the span of one day, this leads Daniel to belive that the two characters were meant to be with one another. Though that day may have seemed heavenly to them at the time, it would all come crashing down as fate had decided that the two would not get more than one day together as Natasha would be deported that night to another country, leaving Daniel to wonder was this fated after all.
Text to World: Although under different circumstances Natasha and Daniel are forced apart and have no means to seeing each other in person. This is similar to the situation today where we are not able to see each other in person and we can only meet digitally. And in this time many people have grown distant and alone as they are not able to see people. There are digital mediums to meet people and stay in contact but many people miss the physical contact and this sometimes to broken relationships. These sentiments also appear in the novel as Natasha and Daniel grow distant as they are not able to see each other in person even though they try to stay in contact through digital means. They are unable to hold on for a long time and eventually fall out of touch. Overall the situation of falling out of touch with people is prevalent in today's society and the novel.
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate, is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual
Fate and Destiny were topics that were utilized in the novel The Sun Is Also A Star in order to show connections between the two protagonists and their future.
"Things happen for a reason, says Natasha’s mother. What she means is Fate has a Reason and, though you may not know it, there’s a certain comfort in knowing that there’s a Plan" This perception of fate and destiny is shared among Natasha's mother and Daniel. They both believe that the universe has a plan and everything that occurs happens in order to achieve a certain outcome. Natasha disagrees with this notion and she believes in science rather than fate.
" “Natasha,” he says. His face is wide open and his world is full of love. Natasha looks up. (...) “Daniel,” she says. And again, “Daniel.” " Even though the couple went through tragic events in their past, they still managed to meet each other on a plane. It is clear that this event was not just luck, there was another force at play; fate. Since their relationship was bound to happen, fate would go to the greatest lengths to confirm this decision.
Literary Devices/Elements
Foreshadowing: In this novel, Daniel uses a Japanese phrase, koi no yokan, to depict his relationship with Natasha. Foreshadowing is used to give the reader's a glimpse of what will take place in the novel. In this case, it shows that Daniel and Natasha will eventually fall in love
"It’s the feeling when you meet
someone that you’re going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don’t love them
right away, but it’s inevitable that you will" (Yoon 67). Daniel claims that his love with Natasha is bound to happen; fate already made that decision. Love at second sight foreshadows how their first attempt at love will not be successful, however, it will eventually take place. This is seen in the end of the novel when they meet on the plane and presumably complete their love story.
Symbolism: Throughout the novel The Sun is Also the Star by Nicola Yoon the use of symbolism was present to add to a meaning behind a minor detail that is not mentioned too often throughout the story. For example Natasha's explanation of the multiverse addresses the idea of fate and destiny while it is almost unnoticed by the reader.
"(...)for every choice you make, an infinite number of universes exist in which you made a different choice" (Yoon 71). The symbolism behind the multiverse is the way that this explanation was worded, it specifies that the choices you make their are an infinite number of other universes that made a different choice. This clarifies that people have their fate and destiny determined by the choices that they make throughout their lives, hinting to the prevalent idea of fate and Destiny the multiverse acts as a carrier of the way that fate and destiny is symbolized to humans.
Irony: Throughout the novel we see Daniel reference fate as the guiding force that wants to brings Natasha and him together. He believes that fate had brought them together and through a series of coincidences they meet up and fall in love. However this guiding light of fate turns out to be cruel and by the end of the novel we see Natasha getting on a flight to Jamaica and two will never see each other again for 10 years.
“The universe stops and waits for us” (Yoon 88 PDF). The irony in this story comes from Daniel and Natasha spending the entire day believing or arguing that fate has brought them together and it is inevitable they will end up together. Daniel believes that the universe wants them to be together and it will stop just for them. This is ironic due to the cruel hand of fate which separates them for 10 years. By the end of the novel we see Natasha get on the airplane and go back to Jamaica and soon after the connection between the two will fall apart and the fateful day will be long forgotten. This relates back to fate and destiny because Daniel and Natasha at some point believed their meeting and falling in love wasn't just coincidence but rather the act of a higher power of love or fate. This is overturned and the two fall out of love ironically even though they had been telling themselves that it was their fate to fall in love.
