Analysis Of Agreeable By Jonathan Franzen

Throughout the short story “Agreeable,” Jonathan Franzen uses several features found in a Bildungsroman to develop the coming of age for the main character, Patty. The central focus of the story is how Patty and those around her handle the traumatic experience of her getting raped. By putting Patty through an experience as substantial as rape, Franzen is able to depict who is truly supportive of Patty.
One prominent feature of a Bildungsroman that is found in the story is enduring a traumatic experience. By choosing to put Patty through such a traumatic situation as rape, Franzen displays Patty’s ability to endure rough situations and rely on others. Despite feeling like she was “nothing,” Patty didn’t give up on finding a way to deal with her experience that made her feel better (Franzen 11). Also, Patty allowed everybody to propose their solution, whether it was a good one or not. By doing so, Patty was able to cope with her experience in a mature way and move on from it as opposed …show more content…
This feature is shown through Patty’s ability to realize how her family really feels about her. Before her traumatic experience, Patty believed that despite her family always teasing her and not supporting her sports, they cared about her as much as her siblings. However, after seeing how her parents, Joyce and Ray, deal with her experience, Patty realizes how little of a priority she is to them. Her parents care more about not ruining their political aspirations than helping Patty through her trauma. Joyce wants her to accept an apology from Ethan and “struggles to contain her excitement” when Patty suggests it (10). Also, Ray attempts to persuade Patty to treat it as just “a mistake and some bad luck” (14). By not getting proper support from her parents, Patty is able to abandon her childish view that her family secretly cares for her and accept that she isn’t their