I rather enjoyed this piece of writing. The overly critical and detailed descriptions of the girls really made me connect with this piece. I often find myself describing people in much the same way in my mind, but not so much in my writing. If my inner thoughts were to spew onto paper it would look something like Updike's writing.
I also feel that being kind to people is far more important than any job in the world, although he may have been intereseted in being more than kind. In my experience being a good person gets you alot furthur in life than always being a stickler for the rules or even being arrogant.
If givin hte same situation I probably would not have done the same as him, and thats simply because he overthought the situation. I liked his passion but it was a little misplaced. He was hoping to impress that girl, but personally I have bigger problems than that, bills and what have you. In conclusion, I like the writing, like the personality behind it, but would not have the guts to quit myself.
You write:
ReplyDelete>> If my inner thoughts were to spew onto paper it would look something like Updike's writing.<<
As Updike means to tell this story from the perspective of a 19 year-old, that probably makes sense.
I, too, admire Sammy's passion and spontaneity. But like you said, it may have been "misplaced" passion. In that last sentence, I think Sammy suddenly sees the "bigger problems" lurking in the not-so-distant future.
>>In my experience being a good person gets you alot furthur in life than always being a stickler for the rules or even being arrogant.<<
Yes, it's one thing to think like a cynical jerk in your own head, but quite another to be mean or disparaging to real people.