Mosquitoland

Mim is the 16-year-old protagonist who embarks on a journey from Mississippi to Ohio to find her mom. She is a self-professed anomaly because she feels different from seemingly normal people, and she therefore feels alone and unable to make genuine connections, especially after her mom and dad get divorced. She and her mom used to be best friends, so much so that Mim viewed her mom as an extension of herself. After the divorce, Mim loses contact with her mom and feels like she’s lost a major part of herself.

Mim has a vivid imagination that she often uses to escape from reality. When her imagination is pushed to its negative extreme, it becomes a form of escapism. This is best demonstrated when Poncho Man is attempting to sexually abuse her. Rather than facing the horrific reality, she imagines that she’s a gazelle and Poncho Man is a hyena. Doing so helps her cope with the situation better than addressing the events directly. When her imagination is pushed to its most beneficial extreme, it helps Mim to envision her future and have goals. This is illustrated when she frequently imagines her and Beck’s future together.