Edward Cullen is the 17-year-old vampire protagonist of Midnight Sun. Edward was turned into a vampire in 1918, at which point he manifested the ability to hear others’ thoughts. Although Edward is just over a century old in terms of absolute years, at the time of the novel, he pretends to be a human student at Forks High School to maintain his family’s secrecy. Edward is utterly devoted to his family, particularly his adopted father Carlisle and his adopted sister Alice. Throughout the novel, Edward struggles with his nature and identity as a vampire, often believing himself to be a monster and damned. Like the rest of his adopted family, Edward abstains from human blood, choosing to survive on only animal blood. As a young vampire, he engaged in a brief period of vigilantism, killing only people who were murderers. During this period, he convinced himself that “in the arrogant application of [his] gift, [he] could do more good than harm” (327). However, Edward, like Carlisle, values human life more than anything else. One of Edward’s only delights in his immortal nature is living long enough to meet his only love, Bella Swan.