Margaret Laurence’s short story The Loons is focused mainly on the relationship between its two main characters: Vanessa MacLeod and Piquette Tonnerres. The two are from very different backgrounds – Vanessa being the daughter of a rich white doctor, and Piquette being the daughter of a poor Métis man. As a result, although the girls are connected in several ways, they only interact a few key times during their lives. With each passing encounter, the girls grow older, and as they do, Vanessa’s perception of Piquette shifts, even after Piquette’s death. As Vanessa ages, although she slowly starts to understand Piquette’s motivations and opinions, she never really knows what to do with the older girl.
Piquette and Vanessa attend the same school …show more content…
MacLeod dies from pneumonia. Wrapped in her own grief, Vanessa doesn’t notice when Piquette stops attending school, or anything about the girl until they meet again four years later. Now 15-year-old Vanessa notices huge changes in both Piquette’s appearance and mannerisms. The tight, revealing clothes and the bright lipstick made the 17-year-old looks more like 20. She is no longer quiet or stoic, instead Piquette is loud, “animated” and surrounded by boys. The characteristic limp of her childhood is instead replaced by an unsteadiness more than likely brought on by drinking practices learned from her family. Vanessa is judgemental of Piquette, noticing things like the “harsh over sweetness of her perfume”, and thinking how she “despises the self-pity in her voice” as the girl talks about Dr. McLeod. Even in adolescence, Vanessa remains ill at ease around the girl. She doesn’t know what to say or how to react to Piquette, especially when she sees the “terrifying hope” in her eyes as she tells Vanessa of her plans of marriage. She feels only distain and pity, saying that she “could only guess how great her need must have been” to tell Vanessa of her future plans. Yet, Vanessa seems to have grown. She admits to feeling no warmth towards the older girl, but she has learned more about Piquette’s home life and feels “ashamed” of her “frightened tendency to look away.” She feels badly for her reaction to the girl, if nothing more than for the connection her father had wished they
Piquette and Vanessa attend the same school …show more content…
MacLeod dies from pneumonia. Wrapped in her own grief, Vanessa doesn’t notice when Piquette stops attending school, or anything about the girl until they meet again four years later. Now 15-year-old Vanessa notices huge changes in both Piquette’s appearance and mannerisms. The tight, revealing clothes and the bright lipstick made the 17-year-old looks more like 20. She is no longer quiet or stoic, instead Piquette is loud, “animated” and surrounded by boys. The characteristic limp of her childhood is instead replaced by an unsteadiness more than likely brought on by drinking practices learned from her family. Vanessa is judgemental of Piquette, noticing things like the “harsh over sweetness of her perfume”, and thinking how she “despises the self-pity in her voice” as the girl talks about Dr. McLeod. Even in adolescence, Vanessa remains ill at ease around the girl. She doesn’t know what to say or how to react to Piquette, especially when she sees the “terrifying hope” in her eyes as she tells Vanessa of her plans of marriage. She feels only distain and pity, saying that she “could only guess how great her need must have been” to tell Vanessa of her future plans. Yet, Vanessa seems to have grown. She admits to feeling no warmth towards the older girl, but she has learned more about Piquette’s home life and feels “ashamed” of her “frightened tendency to look away.” She feels badly for her reaction to the girl, if nothing more than for the connection her father had wished they