When reading the novel If He Had Been With Me, the audience can’t help but feel bad for the main character Autumn as she seems to be losing everything. Her parents are getting divorced, her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend, she cannot control her depression and finally, her first love dies. All of these horrible things happen within the span of a year. These tactics make us feel for the character. After further analyzing the novel I decided Autumn was hypocritical in many situations and could be self absorbed this however helped make her human.. Autumn’s first instance of being a hypocrite is the cheating scandal between her best friend and boyfriend. Anyone would have the right to be angry at those involved in hurting them but she does the same thing to Jamie throughout the entire novel by having an emotional relationship with Finn. She wondered what would have happened had she decided to be with him instead of Jamie.‘“I still know Finny and I still know what would have happened. “I love you,'' I say to Jamie”’ (23). The first time she ever says she loves Jamie she is trying to convince herself she does while she is thinking about someone else. She also then physically cheats with Finn while he is still dating Sylvie. “‘You still have to break up with Sylvie,” I say quietly”’ (371). This is said after they have had intimate relations and agree to start dating. Both have wanted to be in a relationship with the other since they were in middle school but there was a better way to handle the relationships they were already in. Furthermore, Autumn is a selfish character because she knows/expects everyone to be there for her when she is going through a rough patch whether it be with her own mental health and or family problems etc. but when her mother is suffering the same issues she shuts down and cannot provide any assistance to those that are trying to take care of her mother. She also acts as if she can’t understand why her mother reacts to situations the way she does, but reacts to her own problems in the same manner. “What are you doing tomorrow?” Finny asks. I shrug. “Let me take you to breakfast and then you can spend the rest of your day lying in bed or whatever you want” (302). This is an example of Finn taking care of Autumn he spends all day everyday with her for a week to make sure she can improve her mental health and while she does appreciate it it also seems that she takes it for granted as she knows Finn will always be there for her. “I tell him it is supposed to be genetic” (47). This quote follows after Autumn has found out her mother has been hospitalized for suicidal tendencies in the past. Rather than feeling concern for her mother because she is having another depressive episode. She worries for herself and tells Jamie she is scared. I understand being afraid of something that could potentially alter one’s entire life but I feel that she should have more concern in regards to her mother who is actually being affected by it at the moment rather than about herself. I believe Laura Nowlin included these typically negative characteristics into Autumns character because it made her more human. Pathos was a literary device that was already ingrained into the novel but Nowlin's use of these characteristics help us to feel as if we could really relate to Autumn as the human species can be selfish and hypocritical at times. All things considered, Autumn is a selfish and hypocritical character. She obviously has some redeeming qualities otherwise no one would like her character but she did have a lot of flaws that could have been avoided in the writing. Her mental state and the cheating made her a complex character. She was dealing with a lot of pressures at the time, and it helped us relate to her more.