You're Ugly, Too

Now see, this story was funny. Zoë reminds me a bit of that one kid in every class who is always extremely quiet, but if one listens hard enough, one might find that they happen to utter hilariously witty comments under their breath.

The fun thing about this story is that it essentially has no plot at all. There is not really much of a conflict or a progression of events. Rather, it's just a story about a really really really interesting character. So rather than discuss events, let's talk about Zoë. Zoë is an extremely sarcastic and cynical lady. She communicates primarily through jokes and biting sarcastic statements that are generally a little awkward to those in the immediate area. However, Zoë also seems to have a bit of a problem with turning off her humor or realizing when the joke has gone too far. When talking with her students, she often ends up making comments that are unprofessional, inappropriate, and borderline offensive to them. Likewise, at the end of the story, after thoroughly confusing Earl with her many jokes, lies, and random anecdotes, she takes the joke just a wee bit too far and pretends to shove him off the balcony, giving him quite a start indeed.

A big question that I had whilst reading was simply is Zoë just eccentric, or is she nuts? I could go either way really. The baggie deal could have simply been an anal-retentive organization method, or it could be a sign at obsessive compulsive disorder. The same goes for the Bruce Springsteen rug, and how she ultimately convinced herself beyond a shadow of a doubt and got rid of the rug. Also, when both Evan and Earl bring up the topic of love, rather than giving a serious opinion, she breaks off into a story where the main character ends up putting a bullet in the brain. This could be either a sign of being jaded by the idea of love, or maybe she's severely depressed. Furthermore, she also has a tendency of misjudging the environment around her and telling jokes that are not at all appropriate for the situation, like when she tells the story comparing the wife to a fairly intelligent labrador. Her inability to handle social situations well could just be her own awkward personality, or even a sign of autism. So who knows, really? There's not enough evidence to definitively say one way or the other.

Personally, though, I just think she's weird. And lonely.

Who needs men, anyway? Zoë would make a fantastic Crazy Cat Lady.