Have you ever heard of the saying "The only way to get over a man is to get under another?” Well this saying reminded me of Lux's new behavior during this part of the book. It all starts with the girls going to the Homecoming Dance and right away I could tell of Lux behaving differently. She seemed to have more confidence than usual. Meanwhile, her sisters seem normal at first but soon they all start opening up as well. The first sign of Lux being different was when she said "Hold on a sec, I want a cig before we go in" (Eugenides 120). It shows how bold and carefree she became when she was given freedom. Lux did not even care when the other girls warned her that their dad might find out. All she said was "I've got mints. Just tell him some kids were smoking in the bathroom" (Eugenides 120). Then when all of the girls were in the bathroom Hopie Riggs said they were being really loud and acted as if they owned the place-- certainly not the same behavior I have grown accustomed to from previous chapters. The next defining moment of the changing attitude had to do with the alcohol/kiss scene. Lux and Trip had sneaked away and Bonnie and Joe were right behind them. Then Trip took out a bottle of peach schnapps. "You have to taste it with a kiss," he said. He held the bottle to Lux's lips saying, "Don't swallow." Then they kissed each other and exchanged the alcohol and an intense make out session right in front of their friends! Now that could be something Trip does regularly and his friends have seen before but for Lux do it right in front of Bonnie says a lot about her daring and bold attitude. Then Trip handed the bottle to Joe who held it out to Bonnie's mouth. However, being a good girl Bonnie said, "I don't want any." Lux responded by saying, "Don't be a goody-goody." Those were the last words I expected to hear out of her mouth but what Bonnie did afterwards, was the last reaction I expected out of her. Bonnie also shared an intense make out session with Joe. You would think that the girls would not do anything that their parents would not approve of especially if their dad was chaperoning the dance. On the contrary, the fact that they did just proves how thirsty they were to have freedom and how much they lusted to try new things. Then Lux sleeps with Trip on the football field and she appears to be drunk at home. No surprise that both Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon were extremely furious at their daughter's outrageous behavior. Because Lux failed to make her curfew Mrs. Lisbon took a dramatic step and pulled all of the girls out of school and locked them up at home. Afterwards, Lux begins to sleep with guys regularly. Lux tells Bob McBrearley that she couldn't live without "getting it regular." Which means she could no longer go without having sex everyday. Hence why she had a pregnancy scare a little while after which turned out to be negative.
It would be a wise guess that Lux sleeps with guys on a regular basis because she has lost her virginity to Trip and is locked inside a house so if she sleeps with boys and men on top of her roof everyday what does she have left to lose? It was revealed that Trip treated very badly after they had slept together. He became heartless. He hinted at it when he said, "This is it. We danced. We got ribbons. It only lasts for tonight" (Eugenides 178). Although, Trip is referring to the Homecoming Dance his words seem to foreshadow what is about to happen next because after he slept with Lux he just left her on the football field not even caring how she gets home. Then there was the typical reaction from Trip regarding his actions "It's weird, I mean I liked her. I really liked her. I just got sick of her right then" (Eugenides 179). Or in other words, he got what he wanted which was sex and afterwards he could care less about what happened to her. This odd behavior from Trip was confusing because when he was first introduced it seemed as if he really liked Lux and that she had changed him and had tamed the school player. Now even I am confused about Trip's honest motivations.
Lux sleeping around with men everyday could represent her wanting to forget about how she was treated by Trip, the adrenaline rush of her knowing she is getting away with it when her parents are sound asleep, trying to forget about Cecilia's death or even trying to rebel against the family rules.
One thing I learned from reading the second half of the book was the Lisbon girls are actually different from what they appeared to be at first or how they were presented. From the dance you could tell the girls were fun, care free and sweet but got judged because of Cecilia and their dad. Therese asks Kevin at the dance that ''Do we seem as crazy as everyone thinks?"
''Who thinks that?” he replied.
''Cecilia was weird, but we're not.'' And then: ‘‘we just want to live. If anyone will let us" (Eugenides 128). The girls are different then what they are perceived to be and they just want a chance to prove that. They are tired of being judged and they want to let everyone know that they normal just like everyone other girl but they get judged because of their crazy parents and Cecilia's choice to die.
The only question I have regarding this second half is if Mrs. Lisbon has locked the girls at home where is Luz finding all of these boys and men to have sex with on the roof?
No comments:
Post a Comment