The Girl with Bangs. Essay sample

 

‘The Girl with Bangs’ is a short story written by Zadie Smith. The plot of the story is as follows: the narrator is a lesbian who has a male fiance but is madly in love with a woman named Charlotte.

The key aspect of the plot is that narrator is left alone as the story develops. What it means is that Charlotte does not love the narrator back even though it is hinted that she is bisexual. Instead, Charlotte and Maurice (the male fiance) end up together. What is more, they leave for Thailand while the narrator is left behind sad and betrayed.

The short story itself is very progressive as it touches upon a subject that is not often described in literature. That is the reason why it may feel like a breath of fresh air for the majority of readers and that is obviously a good sign. What is more, it presupposes that the world is finally ready to embrace the stories which not everyone can identify with but almost all of them will at least try to comprehend. It is also interesting to highlight that the narrator seemed to be rather fixated on one particular feature of Charlotte’s appearance – her bangs. This is that kind of thing that quite often happens in real life, not to mention the fact that people also tend to idealize others as well.

Taking everything into consideration, ‘The Girl With Bangs’ is a rather unconventional and progressive short story that deals with the issues and problems which bisexual and gay people face on a daily basis. In such a way, more attention is paid to such stories which is a good sign.