Character Clues

Character Analysis

Physical Appearance

In Why We Broke Up, looks aren't everything, but they sure are important. Min's the narrator, so all the physical descriptions we read reflect her thoughts and feelings about the characters, including herself.

She frequently describes Ed in terms of his beauty. In a representative passage, she writes "You looked so gorgeous naked in the lovely green light, like some creature not quite from Earth" (17.111). (Yeah, we get it, Min—he's hot.) Her best friend Al, on the other hand, is often in her thoughts, but he barely seems to register as a corporeal being. "Al told me once late at night that usually when we're talking on the phone, he's pacing around his room in his boxers" (22.12), Min writes. "I never tell Al I'm in a towel talking to him" (22.21). Appearances just don't matter for these two besties.

When Min mentions her own appearance, it's almost always in terms of things she perceives as deficiencies. "It had been raining, my Jewish hair a hideous cloud of pollution" (27.57), she says, feeling ugly and awkward next to Annette. But in Annette's comments from the same chapter, it's clear that Min exaggerates her own flaws: "You have a body, you do, you're beautiful and everything" (27.40), she says. We know she's not lying, because Annette's a total jerk who's secretly sleeping with Min's boyfriend—so she has no reason to dish out empty compliments.

Actions

As in life, we can tell a lot about people in the Why We Broke Up universe by the ways in which they act.

Ed is all about the things he does with his body; he's sexually active (to a fault), and it seems like he's always playing basketball and taking showers. Min's the opposite; a person who "can't run four blocks" (40.93), she's so cerebral that most of her actions are geared toward enriching the life of the mind. Min loves art films and buying books, and sometimes her plans (like the birthday party for Lottie Carson) never make it past the planning stage.

For his part, Al's actions are all about helping others. He spends most of his time doing people favors, which shows his selflessness, and he's careful even his mannerisms: "Al said 'OK' and lifted one foot like he does, balance-beamy, like there was a part of the place we had to be careful on" (39.63), Min observes. This is right after he tells Min he loves her—a moment in which he literally and metaphorically watches where he steps. He's one cautious and thoughtful dude, that's for sure.

Social Status

Ed Slaterton is a jock through and through—a popular kid and, moreover, a heartthrob. From what we know of his ex-girlfriends Jillian and Annette, he seems to have a thing for mean girls. That's probably why the entire population of Hellman High School seems so surprised when he starts dating Min, a dreamer who doesn't care much about sports or bonfires or drinking beer.

Min and her friend group are never explicitly labeled as unpopular, but Ed (always the charmer) often refers to Min's best friend Al as a "f**," which is pretty class Jock-to-alternative-kid bullying. Min says "people have said that forever about him" (16.68), suggesting that Al has been the target of bullying for years. And since he's also been Min's best friend for years, it's safe to assume that these two aren't at the top of the social heap. What matters most about this, is that Min and Ed are from different social worlds—and Min and Al are from the same one. Aw…