In A.M Homes’s “With One Wheel Gone Wrong,” the commodification of the nameless protagonist suggests that her identity is fleeting until she has to buy it again. Indeed, the main character is the “perfect shopper… [who] prides herself on … buying in bulk … catnip and kitty litter [and] Pull-Ups and pomegranates” (Homes). The precise naming of these objects contrasts with her anonymity and suggests that she herself wants to become a commodity in order to be “perfect.” Thus, the protagonist has no inner identity because she only recognizes herself in relation to the objects that she purchases. The fact that she takes “pride” in buying these objects reveals her desire for a “perfect” life. This longing emphasizes a hollowness inside that stresses
