Character Analysis
Manic Pixie Dream Boy
Okay, so he's not exactly manic, and he's not exactly a pixie, and he's definitely not a girl… But dream boy? Yeah, Levi's got it covered.
In fact, he's so perfect, you'd think he was just a stock character who loiters in dorm rooms, just waiting to be awesome. But there's more to Levi than his charming-boyfriend-materialness. (Materialness? That's what we said. Go with us here.)
Lips Out of Context
When Levi kisses Cath, it's a Very Big Deal—at least to Cath. But just a few days later, Levi's kissing another girl at a party. Cath sees him and is understandably devastated, but Reagan tries to talk her down:
"He's just a guy," Reagan said. "Of course he's different from you. You're never going to find a guy who's exactly like you—first of all, because that guy never leaves his dorm room…" (16.61)
When Cath decides to give Levi another chance, he steps up to the plate in a big way. When Cath takes him to her dad's house and he sees the shrine to Simon Snow that is her room, he doesn't run screaming from the dorkitude. Instead, "Levi strolled over to her bed and sat down in the middle. 'You look so blindingly cute right now, I feel like I need to make a pinhole in a piece of paper just to look at you'" (27.85). In other words, these two might be as different as night and day (or, say, a recluse and a social butterfly), but Levi is all about it.
And although Cath says earlier, "I don't want to kiss a stranger […] I'm not interested in lips out of context" (8.53), Levi's patient enough to put his lips back into context. It just takes almost a semester for him to convince Cath they should be there. It's time—and dedication—he seems to possess in spades.
Not Exactly a Sexpot, but Close Enough
It was one thing when I had a crush on him and he was totally unattainable. But I don't think I could actually be with someone like Levi. It would be like interspecies dating. (16.50)
Levi may be a dorky farm boy, but to Cath, he's worldly. You have to realize this is freshman year and, as Levi says, "Months are different in college […] especially freshman year. Too much happens. Every freshman month equals six regular months—they're like dog months" (15.141). Considering Cath's preference for staying holed up on a computer in her room, she's got a whole lot of catching up to do when it comes to boys and socializing in general, and luckily for Levi, he's pretty much her crash course on the crush front.
He's definitely fit to lead Cath, especially since she's pretty sure he's done the deed, while she's remained in kiss territory—and then, only a few times. So while Cath may still feel like a kid, "Levi was an adult. He had a truck. And facial hair. And he'd slept with Reagan; she'd practically admitted it" (16.97). When you're eighteen and your boyfriend is twenty-one, the fact that he's (been) sexually active and you're still virginal becomes a major consideration.
Levi's willing to wait it out, though, to keep it in his lap until Cath is ready. Combine this with his enthusiasm for her super nerdy Simon Snow obsession, and he's definitely a dream boy, if not a manic pixie.