Death By Landscape Lucy Character Analysis

Imaginary friends are often a key part of childhood. They can show some of the inner workings of a child’s mind. They are created from imagination, a desire for friendship and entertainment. However, as children grow older they leave these characters behind. No longer do they need them, so they think of their imaginary friends less. Once a child reaches a certain age, imaginary friends stop being cute creations and begin to be looked down on. In “Death by Landscape” Lois reached the age where she should have many real friends. Instead, though, she only connects with Lucy. When Lucy goes missing, many things don’t quite make sense. Her disappearance seems so mysterious because Lucy is just an imaginary friend who Lois stopped liking.
As a child there are many reasons to show that Lois created Lucy. Lois doesn’t seem to like her life as it “is placid and satisfactory, but there is nothing much that can be said about …show more content…
However, instead of just not imagining Lucy, Lois decides to kill her imaginary friend. Standing at the top of the cliff “makes [Lois] feel strong. There are all kinds of things she is capable of doing”(112). This realization, accompanied by her growing dislike of Lucy, gives Lois the motive to push her imaginary friend off the cliff. She finally feels like she has the power to control her own mind and get rid of Lucy. Because Lois didn’t like Lucy anymore it shouldn’t have been a problem to get rid of her. Even so, when Lucy first disappears Lois feels “terrible-guilty and dismayed”(113). Although she didn’t want Lucy around anymore, Lois feels like she actually killed her friend. Her guilt stays for the rest of her life. When she’s old and living alone, her paintings fill “her with a wordless unease...as if there is something, or someone, looking back out”(100). She sees Lucy in her paintings, and the memory of pushing her friend is what makes Lois