Going Places Essay

760 Words4 Pages
Going Places by A. R. Barton Theme- The lesson explores the theme of adolescent fantasies and hero worship. Sophie and Jansie are both in the last year of high school and both knew that they were destined to work in the biscuit factory as they belong to a working class family. Gist of the LessonThe story revolves around the life of Sophie, a teenager, who, like others of her age, is filled with fantasies and desires. She comes from a poor financial background, but dreams of owning a boutique one day or being an actress or fashion designer. Her ambitions are not rooted in reality .In contrast is Jansie, Sophie’s friend, a realistic and practical girl. Sophie lives in a small house with her parents and brothers, Geoff and little Derek. Sophie lives in male dominated family where her mother is only a shadow. The men are football fans. Though she voices her feelings and desires, her parents do not pay much attention to her, because they, unlike her, are more practical and know the harsh realities of life. They fear for Sophie that her fantansies would disappoint her. Sophie finds a sort of fascination for her elder brother Geoff, who, in her opinion, is tall, strong and handsome but reserved. She envies his silence and often wonders about his thoughts and areas of his life that she doesn't know about. The centre of this story is that Sophie fantasises about Danny Casey, an Irish football player, whom she had seen playing in innumerable matches. She makes up a story about how she met him in the streets and tells this to Geoff to impress him. She tells him that Danny has promised to meet her somewhere again. Sophie gets so pulled into the story she weaves that she herself begins to believe that it’s true. She waits for the Irish player, but obviously, he never arrives. Then, she makes her way home, wondering how her brother would be disappointed on knowing that Danny
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