Appearances
Per Jana C.:
When Neil first called Brenda to ask her out on a date, on page 7 she asked how he looks and she found out that he is dark but not a Negro. I thought it was weird that she was concerned about what he looks like, but it never comes up later in the chapter. I was just wondering what are your thoughts about Brenda's feelings towards appereances because she feels so strongly about looking beautiful.
5 comments:
Beyond discussing your opinions of Brenda's "appearance obsession," what are the implications of her comment? What does this say about Brenda?
This comment is just one of the many that can be found throughout the book about the differences of class. It relates to the Boy who likes Gauguin. Because of Brenda's status of being not only white but higher up in society because of her money. She says that because it gives a hint towards how her family life is and how she views the world without getting to know her very well yet. It's a little glimpse of what Neil will eventually get himself into later on in the story.
Actually Brenda does bring up Neil's appearance again--this time about his nice sholders. Brenda's familiar with a materialistic world and that is her outlook on life. Neil looks nice to Brenda, and so Brenda is attracted to him.
Brenda is obviously very conscious about her appearance (getting her nose repaired) and cares what others think of her. I think that she asks Neil the color of his skin because she does not want to be involved with someone who does not fit into her world. In Brenda's case, this world is white.
I'm not sure as to whether Brenda asked him how he looked because she wanted to know if he was attractive or if she did it simply to try to picture him in her memory. Since his looks are never mentioned again in the chapter, I would guess that she was more interested in picturing him in her memory from when he held her glasses. I would also lean toward that because she agreed to meeting him without ever really finding out what he looks like only knowing that he wasn't a 'Negro'. I would say that she cared about the color of his skin because she thinks of herself as superior to African-Americans and this is hinting to her feeling superior to Neil later on in the story.
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