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Who Is Charles Baxter Trying To Be The Perfect Girl Essay

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In the short story, "Bravery" by Charles Baxter, a young woman falls in love, and marries, a brave and thoughtful man Elijah. Elijah is "brave" man to which Susan loves. In this story, Susan falls into being a stereotype and having a power struggle for a more feminine image. I feel as if she cares more for things that happen in her life that are stereotypical. She goes for the "good guys" and is looking for the "perfect" guy. I think she is trying to be the perfect feminine girl. But, in the story, she is also trying to be more dominant over the child they have. I think this ties into being the perfect woman. She goes for the good guys. Her roommate said, " 'You always go for the kind ones, the considerate ones, those types.' " (32). The beginning of the short story was a flashback to Susan's college days. She was a stereotype and went for the boys who were kind and considerate. The boys who commented on how beautiful she was. I think she was playing mind games with herself that could be damaging to her self confidence if she is trying to be the ideal girl. To me, she is being hypercritical of herself. It is good to go for the good guys but she does not always have to be dependent with messing with the boy's minds and being the perfect woman. She then married Elijah and tried to be …show more content…

The author said,"... and the smile, when she thought of sweet Elijah bravely fighting someone, somewhere– that was hers too" (46). This being the last sentence in the short story made me very confused. I read this and thought is that all she wanted in a husband, a "brave" and "kind" man to complete her perfect life. She was trying to love the perfect life that is unattainable for a normal female. She was trying to compare her life to a fairytale. This makes me feel bed for the people around her. It was true from the story that Elijah was close to perfect but that is all she dwelled on during the story, her perfect

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