Author Question: What might have been Enns first indication that something was amiss withthe girls at the party? Did ... (Read 301 times)

karlynnae · **on:** Jul 20, 2018

What might have been Enns first indication that something was amiss withthe girls at the party? Did he seem to recognize the strangeness of their dialogue?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

How would you describe the difference in personality between the twoboys, Enn and Vic? What details led you to that understanding?

What will be an ideal response?

strudel15 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 20, 2018

Answer to Question 1

It could be argued that he never fully realizes that anything is really amiss, let alone how seriously amiss it is. He is struck by the oddity of both the nameWains Wainand the conversationI wondered if she was American. I had no idea what she was talking about (par. 48)of the first girl he talks to, and has similar reactions, in turn, to the gap-toothed girl and to Triolet, but he somehow manages to keep fitting everything into acceptable contexts, as shown in his responses to Triolets appearance (par. 97) and her name (par. 106). Clearly, the girls seem alien and their conversation is bizarre and incomprehensible, but he gives the impression that, in his experience, theres nothing unusual about any of that.

Answer to Question 2

The differences between them are made clear in the storys very first lines, with Vic expressing his eagerness to get to the party that he knows is going to turn out well for himself, and Enn feeling just as certain that hell have a miserable time but letting himself be dragged along in spite of it.

As soon as they arrive, Vic zeroes in on the prettiest girl there while Enn drifts off to the kitchen by himself. When one thinks of Vic, a number of words, some of them broadly synonymous, come readily to mind: easygoing, self-confident, cocky, brash. Even his nameVictor, presumablyreinforce s the image. He can be all these things, Enn suggests, because he has an ingratiating personality and he knows it: It was true: one urchin grin from Vic and he could have his pick of the room (par. 13), and He looked from her back to me, and he smiled his white smile: roguish, lovable, a little bit Artful Dodger, a little bit wide-boy Prince Charming (par. 76).
Ennshort for Ennis, perhaps?is his opposite: withdrawn, awkward, uncomfortable, and seemingly resigned to life as he finds it: Stella was the most lovely of any of them, but she, of course, was Vics, and they were going upstairs together, and that was just how things would always be (par. 85). He describes himself as feeling unique and lonely (par. 18) and unable to relate to girls his own age (par. 19); the few girls hes kissed, without having any kind of real relationship with them, are friends of his younger sister.