The Dress Essay
Essay: The dress.
Sometimes people hold symbolic value to their material possessions, e.g. a dress. When those possessions are stolen it hurts more, and it makes it harder to condemn the thief, especially if the thief is someone you know and trust. Such is the case in Julia Darling’s short story “The Dress” where the main character Rachel gets her dress stolen by her own sister, Flora. This story deals with things like lying, betrayal, loyalty and family. It explains the process from when something gets stolen, to speculations concerning the thief, to discovering the thief, and finally dealing with the thief and seeing the consequences for the thief.
The relationship between Rachel and her sister Flora is very tense. “"I wish she would shut up!" snapped Rachel. "What are you angry about?" asked Flora in a lightly whipped voice, as she chewed a prawn. "You know why I'm angry."” As you can see, their conversations are very heated, perhaps a sign that things between them aren’t too good between them, even before the dress was taken. It could also just be siblings fighting, as siblings do sometimes. The fact that Flora stole Rachels dress could also indicate that she is jealous of her sister. “At first she had simply thought that she would try it on for a moment and then replace it, but once it clung to her young body she found she was unable to take it off. She walked around the empty house, rejoicing in the way the dress made her feel slim and long legged.” This quote could indicate that Flora is jealous of Rachel’s natural beauty. Maybe Flora normally lives in the shadow of her sister, and would do anything to become like her. Better than her. Lying also seems to come naturally to Flora. “"The dress," said Rachel, unable to contain herself. "I want the dress back." "I don't know what she's talking about," said Flora.” That could be because she is familiar with stealing, or that she simply has been forces to lie a lot in her family. Either way, the relationship
Sometimes people hold symbolic value to their material possessions, e.g. a dress. When those possessions are stolen it hurts more, and it makes it harder to condemn the thief, especially if the thief is someone you know and trust. Such is the case in Julia Darling’s short story “The Dress” where the main character Rachel gets her dress stolen by her own sister, Flora. This story deals with things like lying, betrayal, loyalty and family. It explains the process from when something gets stolen, to speculations concerning the thief, to discovering the thief, and finally dealing with the thief and seeing the consequences for the thief.
The relationship between Rachel and her sister Flora is very tense. “"I wish she would shut up!" snapped Rachel. "What are you angry about?" asked Flora in a lightly whipped voice, as she chewed a prawn. "You know why I'm angry."” As you can see, their conversations are very heated, perhaps a sign that things between them aren’t too good between them, even before the dress was taken. It could also just be siblings fighting, as siblings do sometimes. The fact that Flora stole Rachels dress could also indicate that she is jealous of her sister. “At first she had simply thought that she would try it on for a moment and then replace it, but once it clung to her young body she found she was unable to take it off. She walked around the empty house, rejoicing in the way the dress made her feel slim and long legged.” This quote could indicate that Flora is jealous of Rachel’s natural beauty. Maybe Flora normally lives in the shadow of her sister, and would do anything to become like her. Better than her. Lying also seems to come naturally to Flora. “"The dress," said Rachel, unable to contain herself. "I want the dress back." "I don't know what she's talking about," said Flora.” That could be because she is familiar with stealing, or that she simply has been forces to lie a lot in her family. Either way, the relationship