Saint Agnes Sends the Golden Boy Analysis
Soto 1
Brenda Soto
10th Honors L.A.
16 October 2010
Merman of her dreams? Or Nightmares? Cin Forshay-Lunsford’s “Saint Agnes sends the Golden Boy” is a short story about a teenage girl waiting for Saint Agnes to reveal her true love. Maddy discovers the shortcomings in her boyfriend and dreams of Golden Boy, gorgeous merboy that haunts her dreams, filling her with awe and dread at the same. Was she right to trust so blindly? This story includes imagery and symbolism, which all together add power and feeling to the plot. Imagery is imperative in this particular story since without it, the reader would have difficulty understanding why Maddy decided to trust the Golden Boy so easily. Golden Boy is described as, “…very attractive guy who was being mystically transformed into a lion, and as yet only made it halfway there” (19). Another description is, “His skin was golden, translucent almost. So much about him seemed touched by a pale light. Then name immediately came to me: Golden Boy” (19). These descriptions give you a clear image of what Maddy’s mystery merman looked like. Phrases like, “…huge, slanted, green-blue almond-shaped eyes with a slit of black pupil…” (19). With Golden Boy’s amazing good looks and aura of gracefulness and confidence, he would be hard for many girls to resist. Having a clear image of the merboy’s handsome features,
Soto 1 enigmatic smile, and the fact that Maddy was still broken over Paul, it’s easy to see why she chose to trust Golden Boy so easily. The symbolism in this short story gives it a deeper meaning and makes it more powerful. For example, “All my dreams and fantasies had been strangled with a phone wire” (16), doesn’t mean that they were literally strangled by the wire, but instead, because her relationship with Paul ended over the phone, it symbolizes an end to all her dreams and hopes for the future. Another example of symbolism, is Golden Boy, according to the poem Maddy read about Saint Agnes, he
Brenda Soto
10th Honors L.A.
16 October 2010
Merman of her dreams? Or Nightmares? Cin Forshay-Lunsford’s “Saint Agnes sends the Golden Boy” is a short story about a teenage girl waiting for Saint Agnes to reveal her true love. Maddy discovers the shortcomings in her boyfriend and dreams of Golden Boy, gorgeous merboy that haunts her dreams, filling her with awe and dread at the same. Was she right to trust so blindly? This story includes imagery and symbolism, which all together add power and feeling to the plot. Imagery is imperative in this particular story since without it, the reader would have difficulty understanding why Maddy decided to trust the Golden Boy so easily. Golden Boy is described as, “…very attractive guy who was being mystically transformed into a lion, and as yet only made it halfway there” (19). Another description is, “His skin was golden, translucent almost. So much about him seemed touched by a pale light. Then name immediately came to me: Golden Boy” (19). These descriptions give you a clear image of what Maddy’s mystery merman looked like. Phrases like, “…huge, slanted, green-blue almond-shaped eyes with a slit of black pupil…” (19). With Golden Boy’s amazing good looks and aura of gracefulness and confidence, he would be hard for many girls to resist. Having a clear image of the merboy’s handsome features,
Soto 1 enigmatic smile, and the fact that Maddy was still broken over Paul, it’s easy to see why she chose to trust Golden Boy so easily. The symbolism in this short story gives it a deeper meaning and makes it more powerful. For example, “All my dreams and fantasies had been strangled with a phone wire” (16), doesn’t mean that they were literally strangled by the wire, but instead, because her relationship with Paul ended over the phone, it symbolizes an end to all her dreams and hopes for the future. Another example of symbolism, is Golden Boy, according to the poem Maddy read about Saint Agnes, he