Julia Lawrinson’s ‘Bye, Beautiful’
In Julia Lawrinson’s ‘Bye, Beautiful’, Sandy Lansing is a character of many layers as she is portrayed as a victim, villain and a hero. At first she is timid and living in her sister Marianne’s shadow, but soon shows her bitterness and jealousy towards Marianne. As we near the end of the book however, she puts her own feelings aside and shows her bravery when she stands up for her sister.
Sandy can be perceived as a victim as she is used as a cover up for Billy and Marianne’s relationship. The readers are shown this when Marianne takes Sandy to the deli for a milkshake so she can secretly meet up with Billy. If Frank had a problem with this, Marianne would use the excuse “But Dad, Sandy was there too” (Page 112). This did not happen just once but several times because Marianne felt as if Sandy was her “insurance, her guarantee she had been good” (Page 112). Sandy also shows herself to be a target as she is timid and has no self-confidence. At public appearances and dinners, she immediately feels sick and dizzy; “the smell of food combined with the heat was making her feel sicker,” (Page 37). On the night of the dance, Sandy wore a dress of Marianne’s instead of having to wear one of her own. Whilst Sandy was getting ready, she described what she saw as “a faded copy of her sister” (Page 160).
We start to see Sandy as a villain when she realises her feelings for Billy and shows her jealousy towards Marianne. She makes many poor choices as a result of her immaturity and jealousy and often finds herself in bad situations. A strong feeling of hate and jealousy begins to come over Sandy to her sister which brings out her evil side. We first see this when Sandy tries to persuade Marianne to look down on Billy when she says “He’s part Aboriginal, you know,” (Page 115). She does this because she thinks Marianne will be disgusted, making it easier for Sandy to become close with Billy. Another incident which makes us believe Sandy is a villain is when
Sandy can be perceived as a victim as she is used as a cover up for Billy and Marianne’s relationship. The readers are shown this when Marianne takes Sandy to the deli for a milkshake so she can secretly meet up with Billy. If Frank had a problem with this, Marianne would use the excuse “But Dad, Sandy was there too” (Page 112). This did not happen just once but several times because Marianne felt as if Sandy was her “insurance, her guarantee she had been good” (Page 112). Sandy also shows herself to be a target as she is timid and has no self-confidence. At public appearances and dinners, she immediately feels sick and dizzy; “the smell of food combined with the heat was making her feel sicker,” (Page 37). On the night of the dance, Sandy wore a dress of Marianne’s instead of having to wear one of her own. Whilst Sandy was getting ready, she described what she saw as “a faded copy of her sister” (Page 160).
We start to see Sandy as a villain when she realises her feelings for Billy and shows her jealousy towards Marianne. She makes many poor choices as a result of her immaturity and jealousy and often finds herself in bad situations. A strong feeling of hate and jealousy begins to come over Sandy to her sister which brings out her evil side. We first see this when Sandy tries to persuade Marianne to look down on Billy when she says “He’s part Aboriginal, you know,” (Page 115). She does this because she thinks Marianne will be disgusted, making it easier for Sandy to become close with Billy. Another incident which makes us believe Sandy is a villain is when