Because I did not particularly care for Carver's short story, I'll share my views on Minot's "Lust." Seeing as I'm one of the only males commenting on the story, I'm thinking that it is a tough story for males to connect to. Mirroring what others thought, this was a story that was tough to get into. The way it was presented seemed like diary entries of a teenage girl, maybe that was Minot's intention but regardless I didn't like it. The story itself made me feel bad for the girl, she acted like she needed male companionship even though she seemed to hate herself for it. This is a prevailing theme with most addicts, addicts usually share the feeling that even if they do not want to do something they have to, even if they feel terrible afterwords.
I thought it was somewhat ironic that even though sex was supposed to be a loving experience it just made her feel worse. This reflects on the title and how she never really cared too much for any of the people who she had a relationship with. Another key point was how she used comparisons to animals quite a bit. Sheep, squirrels and shrimp are all used to describe the narrator at different points. This shows how insignificant the narrator feels after sex with these boys and how much power they have over her. One last thing I wanted to point out is that Minot makes both teenage boys and girls look bad in different ways, yet I don't think one is worse than the other. At first you may question me, saying "all the boys seem to be machines with one thing on their mind and after that dump the girl to the side with no remorse." Yet Minot portrays the girl as weak, powerless, and unable to function if she does not have the constant pursuit of the male, which in some ways is worse. Now, keep in mind, while there is the few people who fit these descriptions, I find both of these to be tremendous stereotypes of both sexes. But Minot wanted to make her point, and maybe tell the sad story of a young girl's chase for something that she may never find; or maybe doesn't want to find.
My final question is what made me write on this story. Does your own sex change the way you interpreted and/or connect with the story?
For your question, I don't think so. I think I connected with the story the same as you. I think the character looked weak because she blamed everyone else for her problem besides herself. She blamed the stereotype of men but she never thought she could stop herself. That's why I was irritated with the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you! I was also perplexed and almost irritated with this story too. This young girl throughout the timeline of her adolescence is doing things that she says she cannot control and yet blaming everyone else for the actions. Unfortunately, I think that when one is in denial about lust, these are the thoughts and actions that prevail over reality. To answer your question I think that this story is going to affect each person differently, but probably not on a gender basis, maybe more of an experiential basis or morals.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone as well. I hadn't actually noticed that aspect of the story until mentioned above but now i see that she does blame everyone else. I like that you commented on this, I can see it from a guy's perspective, although not much is different from the way i saw it. I don't think being female changed the way i saw the story though, I feel that both sexes were put on each end of the spectrum with this story. Do you think that Minot put their social class in for a reason, or if you think it has anything to do with them not blaming themselves for their actions?
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you. I felt that the girl in the story was too casual about her actions; she would repeat the same mistakes over and over again yet she wouldn't own up to the fact that they were her mistakes, and she could only blame herself for them. The impact this story has on others would only reflect their past experiences, like Brittany said.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
ReplyDeleteI too, disliked both stories. I was left feeling so despondent. I also felt like asking what is the point to Minot's "Lust"? I think I felt both disgust and sadness for the narrator. I do not think I felt that men or women were either worse or better. I think men and women just deal with things differently. I think the narrator was obviously a shell of a person and was trying in vain I might add to fill herself up with something and it ended up leaving her more empty than when she started out.