The first time I read this story I was a freshman in college, like you. Like you, I had an immediate reaction to the story.
This time round, I read it a little slower and as I read I highlighted different passages that I thought were interesting. Many of them are listed below for you:
"...she knew she was pretty and that was everything." pp. 407
"Everything about her had two sides to it..." pp. 408
"It was a boy with shaggy black hair, in a convertible jalopy painted gold." pp. 409
"He wagged a finger... and said, 'Gonna get you, baby...' " pp. 409
"But all the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling, mixed up with the urgent insistent pounding of the music and the humid night air of July." pp. 409
"It was too hot." pp. 410
"...she whispered 'Christ, Christ...' " pp. 409
"He was standing in a strange way, leaning back against the car as if he were balancing himself." pp. 410
" 'I know my Connie...' " pp. 412
" 'Didn't you see me put my sign in the air when you walked by?' " pp. 412
" 'I'm your lover, honey... I'm always nice at first, the first time.' " pp. 414
"His whole face was a mask..." pp. 415
"...but again he almost lost his balance." pp. 415
" 'Don't you know who I am?' " pp. 416
" '...then they're all going to get it." pp. 416
" '...and nobody else gets hurt...' " pp. 416
" 'It's all over for you here, so come on out.' " pp. 417
"...an incantation..." pp. 417
How do the areas I marked/highlighted compare with those you marked? What do you think of the story? What is your interpretation?
Post a comment to either the story in general or to one/all of the above questions. Then post a comment to at least one other student response.
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21 comments:
This story was good in the beginning and then took a dark turn which I was not expecting. I thnk the line that stood out to me the most started in line 111 "Yes, I'm your lover. You don't know what that is but you will." and he goes on to basically tell her he was going to force her to be his lover. I had a hard time finishing the story knowing what was the outcome of the story.
She knew she was pretty and that was everything. It seems it is about a girl who is vain and has no care of anything else but herself. what is gonna happen if she loses her looks or if someone wants to get deeper with her.
First, I didn't really mark or highlight anything in this story. I was too creeped out by the story.
seciond, it seemed eerily familiar, like I had heard it, or been a part of that time or something. I was really impressed with the writing, but I really hated the story. I don't generally do stories about child rapists and murderers.
This story was good. This is my type of story because in the future I would to become a Forsenis Chemist. The story started out very well then it changed to a very dask side of life. When you first start to read this story it is like a teen age girl that likes she is invisible to everything, then she finds out that there is a guy that thinks he is crazy about this girl.
On billy's comment. hi, did you read past the first couple of pages, or maybe the first paragraph. go back, read the story, and then make a post. really, this was not at all the story. it changed pretty much right after you stopped reading it.
cbrown, i don't get your post. she finds out there is a guy that thinks he is crazy about her? please clarify.
I really did not care much for connie. Her attitude was what really irritated me. Unexpectedly near the end of the story; it appeared that connie would soon bocome a rape victim. That made the story significantly more interesting. Thankfully, she did not have to undergo the full experience. All one can hope is that she learned a valuable lesson during that odd night.
to oompaloompa:
I agree that the writing was good...I definately can see how many people would not like the story. It is rather difficult for one to pay attention to a character they do not approve of.
Could it be that characters can make or break a story?
the author did a good job portraying the boy as a predator. he lost respect from me. while most could kinda side with the kid, having experience and wanting to share it with someone else, to take something or try and take something away such as a girls virginity and innocence just isnt in the cards.
This story was very good, I loved the reality of it. I think that it also tells a lesson to young people in the world. This girl thought that life was a big game, but when this man becomes part of her life everything seeems to become very real. The message i got from this small story is that life means much more than what you look like or what your friends are going to do throughout the day.
Azziox I totally agree this story was written perfectly, the autor describes her charecters to a tee. She also gives us a very good description of how they feel about one another. i think you hit it on the dime azziox!!
I thought that it was a great story full of humor and social commentary, but then again my sense of humor is slightly off. There seems to be and almost endless amount of interpretations that could be derived from this work, which I kind of enjoy. It allows the reader to form their own unique bond with the story. On the quotations I don’t think my list was as near as extensive, though it is full of interesting one liners. There are defiantly going to be some more of Oates’ work in my future.
As I was reading this story, I had a feeling that the self-absorbed, snobby main character would end up getting into trouble somehow because of the choices she made and the way she flirted around with the boys. It definately made ME feel uneasy, because, being a girl, it's a lot more dangerous in the world for us than it is for men. And this is just one of the many examples there are of those terrifying moments.
ccharlock..i totally agree with your comment..she really did think life was just a big game..and when reality took it's turn in her life, it took everything.
I am with the oompa loompa, I first of all dont like reading period. Especially when its about a fifteen year old girl, who is self centered, that doesnt know how to avoid a fourty and thirty year old man. From a background check this story was written during the Equal rights amendment. soo in this era women are probably getting raped every day in the workforce. I would have thought that her parents would have taught her how to avoid these situations. This story got pretty intense but in the end she lucked out of not getting raped.
I didn't care for the story too much at first until it took the dark turn.I didn't think it was going to turn that way the line 'I'm your lover, honey... I'm always nice at first, the first time' made me a lil uneasy as a female.A number of things raced through my head after reading that line but over all lines like that kept me reading
I agree with winsome_chaos828 it is a different world for females.I was reading this story at home ALONE and it made me uneasy even though it was still daylight.
I think that this story was weird. It started out with a girl who had the wrong values or maybe even no values and ended up with reality hitting her and her losing everything. The girl really resembles many people that I have known and I already knew what was going to happen. I don't think it was good however the writing was.
I completely agree with chcarlock. I am glad that people write stories like this one. Maybe it will teach some a lesson. Maybe not. The point is a good one though.
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