Literacy Article on Daniel Shen's November Rain

(By Ava Marie)

In November Rain by Daniel Shen, the story shows two teenagers, both terminally ill and stuck in a hospital with nothing but each other. The main character, Jaime, and the girl meet on the rooftop of the hospital by accident, which then becomes their safe place with one another, where they share memories, stories, lyrics, and struggles that help the characters explore the beauty of living and having somebody by their side to talk to. Shen uses Character Arc, Character Self-Revelation, and Story World to capture the view of Jaime’s thoughts on love and life after the loss of his dear friend/lover. The words of the story, like lyrics to a song, wrap around you and leave an imprint of its melody: life is beautiful even when you have fewer days to admire it.

Death, loss, the incapability of escaping something so terrifying, all a source of growth/change, either positive or negative. We all have people so dear to us, whether we met them just yesterday or if we’ve known them for years. We all long for something: that they don’t pass away. Although you may not think of it all the time, it is there in the back of your mind. In November Rain, Shen uses Character Arc to show Jaime’s growth as a person, in this instance, positive growth. After his friend dies, he does not go to their “space”(the rooftop) for a full week. Jaime decides to just walk through the halls of the hospital and stop writing his songs for a while. But after that one week, Jaime decides to go to the rooftop, grab his notebook, and begin writing songs again. This shows his Character Arc, his transformation into a better person moving forward. He decides to move on from his grief and live with the fact that she is gone, but always with him in his heart and mind. 

Shen uses Character Self-Revelation to show how Jaime acknowledges his feelings: grief, sadness, loss. He leaves the rooftop alone for a little while, decides to go back and start writing his songs again, and lastly, leaves his notebook full of songs up on that rooftop. Not only for him, but also for the next people to find the notebook, to show the next people how Jaime felt. Jaime goes through the process of tsuchikau, to cultivate or to prosper one’s character for the betterment of oneself. Shen uses Self-Revelation effectively to show the reader that loss comes with moving on from the past, accepting it, and letting go of things, even if it may be painful. 

Lastly, Shen makes use of Story World to show how the surrounding settings around the character affect them physically and mentally. The home of Jaime, where his father verbally abused him, and his mother did nothing but hold back. This shows the imprisonment of Jaime, his feelings, his thoughts, and who he is. The hospital also acts similarly, as if keeping him in prison, making him stay in one place, everything dull and monochromatic, making you want to give up. But the rooftop and the sky + sunsets where Jaime meets the girl act as an escape, showing his freedom, his capability of being himself, and how he feels. As if he didn’t have a limited amount of days left. 

Overall, November Rain signifies change, moving on, and how one can move on from the death of a lover or someone you hold close to you. Shen connects it to realistic feelings and examples of loss and how it must feel to lose someone you knew within a certain number of days. By using the Truby concepts, Daniel Shen captures the growth of Jaime both morally and emotionally in loss and love. Now that you’ve read about loss and moving on from a snippet of November Rain, check out the full story and many more in here!