Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Summary



This story was about a young girl named Connie. One day while out with her friends she sees a man in a gold car who says that he is going to get her. She is around adolescence because she is interested in boys and goes out with boys on the weekends. One Sunday when her parents and her sister go to her aunt's for a barbecue, the man in the gold car comes to her house. She doesn't know him but he wants her to go for a ride with him. At first she seems reluctant but a little curious. The man's man is Edgar Friendly and he has a friend with him by the name of Ellie. After trying to convince Connie to go for a ride with him and not succeeding he tells her all about her family and her life. Connie is creped out by this and threatens him but he tells her that she shouldn't call the police. He tells her that he is going to be her lover and that she needs to come outside and go for a ride. Connie runs for the phone and tries to call the police but she is paralyzed with fear. Edgar finally convinces her to come out of the house and this is where the story ends.



Interpretation



I think that this story is about manipulation and fear. From the view of Edgar, there is a strong sense of manipulation and conquering your victim. From Connie's view, there is a sense of fear and manipulation. She is being directed by fear to act in a certain way. The story also touches on obsession.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Fat Girl

Summary



This story was about a girl who is fat. She is told by her mother that she shouldn't be fat and that boys don't like fat girls. When she goes to college she finds a friend who later becomes her roommate and encourages her to loose weight. She goes through the process of loosing weight and is miserable. She meets a man who works for her father and marries him and they have a child. During the pregnancy she gains weight again and slips into her old habits of hiding candy and eating what her husband eats which she never used to do. After the pregnancy her eating habits continue and her husband argues with her about her weight. The story ends with her eating one of her hidden candy bars in front of her husband.



Interpretation



This story seemed to me to be about the struggle with addiction as well as a struggle with being true to yourself. The girl was not happy when she was skinny and didn't enjoy the person she had become. I think that it is very important that a person be comfortable with who she is and not go to great lengths to hide features that define her as a person. I also think that it was about a struggle with addiction because she was hiding her candy bars and eating very little in public but more in private. She didn't seem to be in control of her eating habits which seemed to stem from her mother's comments. The story seemed to me to be about many things that help define a person psychologically and physically.

Powered by ScribeFire.