Character development for Devorah

All of her life, Devorah has been sheltered and caged from the world outside of her Hasidic neighborhood. She wasn't allowed to associate herself with someone who is "not her people," the saying for which her dad calls people of other ethnic groups, cultures, etc. "They're not like us. And they don't like us. Understand?" Devorah has been told how to live her own life, and without choice, is left to marry a random man and have a child at 18.

Since Devorah has met Jaxon, she has been out of her comfort zone. She has been going behind her parents' back and most importantly, has been breaking her religion. Being alone with any man, besides her family members, is threatening to break her virtue and is considered a violation is "yichud." Yichud laws say that a man and a woman who are not married are not allowed to be in a secluded and/or private area. Just being alone with Jaxon and saying hello could mean Devorah's whole community, including her own family, would shun and disown her. Devorah, the girl who was afraid to break the rules, is suddenly risking losing everything she has ever known.

Another thing changing about Devorah is that she's beginning to become more curious. She has came to realization that her religion is unfair, and unlike her brothers and every other male in her culture, she does not get to choose her own path. After high school, Devorah will be chosen a husband, a man she has never know or even met, and she will have children and raise a family because that is what she's "supposed" to do. After browsing through facebook wrongfully, Devorah came across a girl who she used to know named Ruchy. The neighborhood always gossiped about her, which made Devorah believe that Ruchy was excommunicated from her family, until Devorah came across a picture of Ruchy, her new boyfriend, a baby, and her parents. "My own slideshow starts playing in my mind: Me in a cap and gown, not from high school but from college. Maybe even nursing school, so that I could become a nurse-midwife, so that I could take care of scared Hasidic women like my sister and Ruchy. Then, me and Jaxon, holding hands in public, posing with my family. Jaxon and Shabbos dinner, lighting a candle. Our sisters playing together. Could my parents ever accept a different path for me" (LaMarche 139).

I believe it is okay for Devorah to be curious. Being sheltered and being forced to ignore things outside of her neighborhood and religion is wrong, and being a 16-year-old girl, she can't help but to be curious. It is okay for a teenage girl to want to graduate college and choose her own path without worrying about whether her parents and family still love her or not. In my opinion, it is extremely wrong and unfair, and maybe one day she will be able to show everybody who she really is.

This article talks about a 25-year-old who was married at 17 and was told she had to start a large family right away. After having her own opinions, she decided to break free from her religion. She describes her old religion an the things she had to do as "disgusting." I think if Devorah was a real person, this article would help her see that she is not the only one who is curious about the world outside of her religion, and she is not the only Hasidic who wants to choose her own path.

How would you feel if you were Devorah? Would you follow your religion and do as your told? Would you want to rebel?