Summary Of Short Story 'The Girl With Bangs' By Zadie Smith
Campbell 1
Robyn Campbell
Professor Johnson
English 102
February 18, 2014
Baffling Beauty In the short story “The Girl with Bangs” by Zadie Smith, Charlotte Greaves is portrayed as a round character. Charlotte has multiple things going on in her life that she reacts to positively and negatively. She knows what she wants but gets it not caring who she hurts in the process. An example of this given by the author is “This promise she gave him, but he was still gone, and gone is gone, and that 's where I came in” (272). Charlotte is promiscuous and usually gets what she wants. She has several affairs throughout the story. Charlotte acts unpredictably. “He married her after she 'd shaved her head that afternoon just to spite us” (274). Few people, especially women, would act impetuous and impulsive when it comes to features. She did this rebellious act to prove she was independent and strong minded still. …show more content…
As a static character in this story, Charlotte is unchangeable.
It doesn 't seem she cares about school or the people that she hurts. She only cares about being close to someone at all times. “ Any book I gave her she treated like a kid treats a Christmas present---fascination for a day and then the quick pall of boredom; by the end of the week it was flung across the room and submerged” (272).This showed that Charlotte cared about only what she wanted to at certain times. In that case, the people that had relations with her got hurt. Charlotte remained the same towards the end of the story in that she had already hurt two people 's feelings but was in the process of hurting someone else as well. “The guy was some other guy that she 'd been sleeping with on the days when she wasn 't with me” (274). Once again Charlotte 's selfish side rose again. She did this act not caring who was hurt in the
process. Charlotte acts very independent, however she always needs someone there to make her feel Campbell 2 wanted. The feeling of being wanted by someone is what motivates her to care more about herself than others. The presence of love, lust, and sex is what causes her to act so selfish and careless. “Charlotte was always one of those people for whom sex is available at all times—it just happens to her” (272). She was a beautiful girl, in that she was so carefree. “You could make a list of cons on Charlotte; and “her bangs” sitting solitary in the pros column would outweigh all objections” (271). To some people, looks outweigh personality. The protagonist in this story realized Charlotte 's personality was confusing but could not get past her beauty to care.
Campbell 3
Works Cited
Smith, Zadie. “The Girl with Bangs.”Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing.8th ed. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 270-274. Print.
Robyn Campbell
Professor Johnson
English 102
February 18, 2014
Baffling Beauty In the short story “The Girl with Bangs” by Zadie Smith, Charlotte Greaves is portrayed as a round character. Charlotte has multiple things going on in her life that she reacts to positively and negatively. She knows what she wants but gets it not caring who she hurts in the process. An example of this given by the author is “This promise she gave him, but he was still gone, and gone is gone, and that 's where I came in” (272). Charlotte is promiscuous and usually gets what she wants. She has several affairs throughout the story. Charlotte acts unpredictably. “He married her after she 'd shaved her head that afternoon just to spite us” (274). Few people, especially women, would act impetuous and impulsive when it comes to features. She did this rebellious act to prove she was independent and strong minded still. …show more content…
As a static character in this story, Charlotte is unchangeable.
It doesn 't seem she cares about school or the people that she hurts. She only cares about being close to someone at all times. “ Any book I gave her she treated like a kid treats a Christmas present---fascination for a day and then the quick pall of boredom; by the end of the week it was flung across the room and submerged” (272).This showed that Charlotte cared about only what she wanted to at certain times. In that case, the people that had relations with her got hurt. Charlotte remained the same towards the end of the story in that she had already hurt two people 's feelings but was in the process of hurting someone else as well. “The guy was some other guy that she 'd been sleeping with on the days when she wasn 't with me” (274). Once again Charlotte 's selfish side rose again. She did this act not caring who was hurt in the
process. Charlotte acts very independent, however she always needs someone there to make her feel Campbell 2 wanted. The feeling of being wanted by someone is what motivates her to care more about herself than others. The presence of love, lust, and sex is what causes her to act so selfish and careless. “Charlotte was always one of those people for whom sex is available at all times—it just happens to her” (272). She was a beautiful girl, in that she was so carefree. “You could make a list of cons on Charlotte; and “her bangs” sitting solitary in the pros column would outweigh all objections” (271). To some people, looks outweigh personality. The protagonist in this story realized Charlotte 's personality was confusing but could not get past her beauty to care.
Campbell 3
Works Cited
Smith, Zadie. “The Girl with Bangs.”Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing.8th ed. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 270-274. Print.