Lust Susan Minot

In the short stories “Lust” by Susan Minot, “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl or Halfie” by Junot Diaz, and “IND AFF or Out of Love in Sarajevo” by Fay Weldon, there is a common theme of manipulation, promiscuity and detachment as the main characters try to attain acceptance. All three of the protagonists in the stories, the unnamed young woman in “Lust”, Yunior in “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl or Halfie”, and the graduate student in “IND AFF or Out of Love in Sarajevo” blanket themselves from their own emotions and hide behind sex creating a false reality where they do not face their own fears. Instead, they look for acceptance by pretending to be someone they are not or by compartmentalizing the people around
As all teenagers, she wants to be liked and accepted by her peers, but she has mistaken sex for acceptance. The constant cycle of different men is supposed to be her way in, but by engaging in sexual activity, she loses a part of herself “with each boy it’s as though a petal gets plucked each time” (Meyer 277). Packed off to a boarding school, the narrator has clearly felt disconnected from the world for some time and craves companionship. With no one to talk to and no moral guidance, she becomes emotionally unstable and unable to have meaningful relationships. Though the boarding school offers freedom, the headmaster’s indifferent attitude, “The headmaster told me he didn’t care what I did but that Casey Academy had a reputation to uphold in the town” (Meyer 279), further emphasizes to the narrator that she has no value. As mentioned earlier, she feels unloved. This inability to love comes from the fact that she lacks a parental figure in her life or a meaningful authority figure. She has lost control of herself, but has no one who cares about her enough to put her on the right path. “My parents had no idea. Parents never really know what’s going on, especially when you’re away at school most of the time” (Meyer 275). To fill this void, she has created a false reality for herself and filled it with different men in a misguided attempt to get love and companionship. She doesn’t take the time to consider her own feelings but allows herself to be tugged in whichever direction by whichever young man. No one in her life has stepped up to say “I care,” to offer a shoulder to lean on, or to even offer guidance. She fears being alone and is afraid to face what she has