While I Was Gone was written in the first person. Sue Miller chose to write the novel from this perspective to get the reader more into Jo's character. Sue could not have titled the book While I Was Gone if she had written in third person. If a reader reads a novel that is in first person they feel connected

The novel began with Jo and her husband on a boat. Every Monday they took a day off together. Since their three daughters had grown up, they had time to themselves. Her husband, Daniel, was fishing and she was sitting in the boat relaxing. All of a sudden she got an uneasy feeling and didn't really know how to name it. "I was abruptly and most intensely, sharply aware of all the aspects of life surrounding me, and yet of feeling neither part of it nor truly separate from it. Somehow impartial, unattached- an observer. Yet sentient of it all. Deeply sentient, in fact. But to no apparent purpose." (4) Jo continued to have this feeling. She felt content with her life, yet she wanted something more exciting. Jo could live with her life, but that's not what she wanted from life, she wanted excitement. When Eli reappeared in Jo's life she saw an opportunity for a new chapter in her life to begin. He made her feel like she was alive again. With Daniel it had always been the same thing for years and she was craving something new. . . someone new.

Jo took time out from her life with Daniel and stayed with her mother. When Jo returned, Daniel took some time as well. This time was for them to think. Jo thought that Daniel and her might split up, but when Daniel came home he said he forgave her and they could move on. Daniel had to give up a hardness in him to yield to her. He had always been the one to do the forgiving and he returned to this position. There was a certain distance between them, even after he forgave. Jo learned to accept that and to give him his space. She made this change unintentionally, yet she had to pay the price. Daniel could forgive her but he could not forget. There were times when Jo knew he was thinking about it and sadness overcomes them both. This was the decision that the two of them made; it was the decision to be together despite it all. They shall live with that decision for the rest of their lives.

Daniel was a constant in Jo's life. He was always the steady rock that she could fall back on. Daniel dealt with Jo's inconsistencies exceptionally well. When Jo committed adultery Daniel fell apart because, in his eyes the attempt was as horrifying as the act itself. In Jo's eyes, the attempt didn't count. Daniel was incredibly wounded by what Jo did because he felt content with her and was not restless or questioning his life. Daniel was a priest and took these matters seriously. Jo was very confident of Daniel's love. She never stopped to second guess his actions and his commitment. It seems as though she was taking advantage of his patience, love, and devotion.

Blood was a recurring image. The first time it appeared was in a scene where Jo was starting to drift away from her first husband. She was working at a bar and there was a brawl. Blood got spattered all over her. At this point the blood was exciting. She went home that evening with the blood still on her and she didn't wash before she got into bed with her husband. This was the introduction to her new life of adventure. When Jo found Dana bleeding to death she was of course, horrified. In the final related image, Daniel throws a tomato in anger, and again she gets splattered. Jo has her back to Daniel; he picks up a tomato, and throws it near her. When Jo turned around he simply states "It was rotten," (220) and walks out.

with that character. When something bad happened to Jo, the reader felt her pain. Some readers may have had emotions towards Jo that weren't what Jo was feeling. First person is also easier for writers to get into. Sue Miller only had to tell the story from Jo's perspective and did not have to worry about anything beyond her vision. This was what made the readers connect with Jo so much.

Jo changed a great de

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Approximate Word count = 2528
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)