Extra Credit: "Lust"

I was initially attracted to this short story because of the way it looks on the page--the paragraphs are short and choppy, with double line breaks in between them. Many of the paragraphs are not indented. It didn't look like a typical short story, so I was curious to see what it was about.

Once I started to read the story, I understood why it looked so strange. Each paragraph was something new, a description of a different boy that the narrator had slept with. The narrator would point things out about each boy, about how he was in bed or the innocent activities they would partake in together right before things got steamy. It was almost sad how the narrator described all these boys. There were so many of them, but only one girl who experienced and was hurt by almost all of them. I like the way she compares them to songs in one part; she connects each boy with a line from a song. The boys really are like songs to her because each one meant something, but they were all fleeting.

This short story was driven by many small, brief stories of all the boys. It definitely was not typical in that there really seemed to be no definitive start, middle, and end. There was no real plot line. But in reading it, I got to know the narrator and how desperately she just wants to be loved. The real development in this story is in the character of the narrator. When she first begins describing each boy in the beginning of the story, she comes across as a callous and almost heartless girl who is only in it for the thrills of sex and lust. As the narrative continues, it becomes clear that she is deeply sad and lonely. The last part basically broke my heart because she talks about how before sex, the boys would look into her eyes as though she meant something to them. After sex, they didn't care anymore. And although it was an overall sad story that didn't contain a true plot, I was somehow satisfied by this tale. I suppose that's really what makes a complete short story--whether or not it leaves the reader satisfied.