The Individual - Ryan

1)      I chose Samuel Reyes as the character I most identify. He is the grandfather of the main protagonist, Cassia Reyes.

2)      Samuel Reyes is currently deceased. He had his Final Banquet at the age of 80, like most of the people in Matched. His relationship with Cassia is a very trustworthy relationship. He was the first person who Cassia told about what she saw on her microcard. Since he is at his age, he has thinning grayish hair. His son is Abran Reyes, who he told to destroy his DNA sample. This shows his rebellious nature towards the Society. He also seemed to be very wise. In the novel, he gave Cassia a bit of advice in one form or another. The day before his Final Banquet, he let Cassia ponder on what her grandmother would have said about her Match. On the day of his Final Banquet, Cassia gave him a poem as her gift to him; he loved it, but he told her those were not her words. He told her to trust her own words. His advices to Cassia showed that he was a prominent figure in Cassia’s life.

3)      Samuel Reyes was an insightful, trustworthy, and a caring person. He was also a little rebellious towards the Society. I think I am most like Cassia’s grandfather because of his slight rebellious nature. Samuel Reyes’ way of being a little rebellious was not outright and direct. He told Abran to secretly destroy his DNA sample, so the Society could not have brought him back. My way of being a rebel is not direct, either. I especially like getting back at somebody without them knowing. I also try to give advice now and again, so I am similar to him in that aspect, as well. Even though they might not be the best advices, I still give them. I might not be such a caring person, like Samuel, but I do try to be trustworthy. I nearly always keep a secret whenever possible.

4)      For my piece of art, I chose to do a drawing. On my drawing, I drew Cassia’s grandfather with a thought bubble. In the thought bubble, there are three parts of DNA. I drew the one on the left bolder, and for the other two, I gradually drew them thinner to represent it disappearing. To the right of Cassia’s grandfather, there is a quote from him to Cassia. It says “It’s alright to wonder”. My piece of art relates to Samuel Reyes and me because it represent aspects that we both share. The DNA in the thought bubble represents reserved rebellion because it represents Abran Reyes destroying his father’s DNA sample. The quote to the right represents our giving advice to others. The quote was one of the last things he said to Cassia, and it was the advice that Cassia ponders about throughout the book. Finally, the light green background represents caring. Light green is Cassia’s favorite color, as well as the color of her Match Banquet dress. The light green surrounds the grandfather, and I thought this was a good way to show that Samuel cares about Cassia. I DO care about some things, so the background color relates to me, as well.