“The object of my life was now to put as much distance between myself and the events mentioned in the letter as I could manage.”
The narrator of “Lucy” says this above statement with assuring gravity. However, as revealed by her dealings in the book, this appears to be a battle she is losing. Clearly she does have discontent for her past, such as her family, home, treatment, etc. However these crucial things are stuck in her being, being hated, but at the same time she cannot let go of them. It seems that she is ready for her new surroundings in American culture, but cannot forget her past. She seems not to like anything around her, because either it is strangely new or awfully old. For example, she seemed to like the cold bleak snow, describing it as nourishing, yet she longed for the tropical environment she grew up in. She reiterates this saying “the new was no longer thrilling to me unless it reminded me of the past.” In essence she is contradicting herself, causing a state of confusion.
Why does she keep the past so close to her heart, yet wants to distant herself? This very question seems to be key early on to the plot. I think this could be because she perhaps views herself as an outsider, and American customs are too strange for her to accept as of yet. Deep down she wants to accept them, but she as a young girl is drawn to the familiarity of her own customs. Also I think it is a bit of misunderstanding American customs. For instance, when Mariah says she loves the spring, Lucy cannot understand why. In fact throughout the first few chapters she repeats the general question: How do you get to be that way?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I agree with you that Lucy is not relating to these American customs so she feels like a stranger. My aunts boyfriend is an immigrant from Mexico and sometimes he looks at me like he is wondering what the heck I am doing. All different cultures have different ways of dealing with things. For example, Lucy thinks its okay to tell her awkward dream to Lewis and Mariah, but in our culture we would never think of telling this dream in front of the people that where in them. Also I wonder, do you think Mariah in her head is thinking about Lucy, "How do you get to be that way?"
Yes, thats a great idea, to look at if from the perspective of Mariah-I think she is thinking that. Neither one seems to realize that their way of seeing life is not necessary the only way- like ethnocentrism
Eilis,
I can understand your observation that Lucy both wishes to get away from her home, while thinking about it in the United States. It is a strange concept. However, I can understand. At first, when you go to a new place, you feel awkward and you just want everything to be familiar. It takes Lucy some time to get her bearings, but eventually she starts to examine herself and why she is the way that she is.
I kind of feel as though it relates to our first day of college as well. ow long it take all of us to get used to the new environment at college. It took some time but I know i have already learned things about myself after I started to examine how I developed into the person I am today. Then I looked at my new friends and wondered what event have shaped their lives. Similarly, Lucy started to look closer at her own personality and at Maria's as well and questioned "how do you get that way?"
Post a Comment