Two Characters In Bad Haircut By Tom Perrotta

Improved Essays
In Bad Haircut, a collection of ten short stories by Tom Perrotta, the initial appearance of several characters are distinct from each other. Buddy’s initial reaction to each situation varies greatly from the eventual discovery of true condition. Important figures in Buddy’s life, including, the Wiener Man, the Pasco family, and Sharon, helped to influence the matured young man Buddy has developed to be. While the surface appearance of each situation looks convincing, the deeper meaning hiding behind the first impression can be analyzed through the characters’ actions, dialogue, and thoughts.
In "The Wiener Man", the man in the Oscar Mayer costume, also known as Mr. Mike Amalfi, is initially displayed as a heroic figure. However, once Buddy
…show more content…
When presented to the world, the Pasco family is seen as the ideal and common American household, having “…a family of four, consisting of blue collar husband, a working wife, two kids (girl and boy), and a dog.” (160) However, the underlying and hidden reality of the family 's situation is not broadcasted to the world on Wake up, America! As portrayed to the nation, the attire of the family is “Mrs. Pasco in an apron, Matt and Mr. Pasco in paint-splattered work clothes, Sparky in a red-bandana collar, Jane in her cheerleading outfit, Mike Moretti in a suit and tie.” (176) In reality, however, the appearance of the family disguises the true plights and problems the family is experiencing. Mrs. Pasco is actually working another job, in contrast to acting as a stay-at-home mom. In addition, Matt is emotionally unstable. Mr. Pasco is in the midst of searching for a new job after being laid off, rather than being the blue-collar husband pictured by the world. Furthermore, the family was forced to purchase a pet dog to be seen as the common family, and the daughter Jane, depicted as the joyful cheerleader, “She was in my arms, sobbing fiercely against my shoulder…” (177) showing that she deals with many conflicts on a daily basis, contrasting the idea that she always remains cheerful and positive. (177) Another contradictional view of “The …show more content…
However, as they became acquainted with one another, they gradually formed a tighter bond as their relationship strengthened. When Buddy first saw her, he felt the urge to befriend her, “I was persistent. She was lonely. Within three weeks we were eating together every day.” (182) In one’s first observation of the pair, it would seem as they were bound to become a couple. After the two become closer friends, Buddy tries initiate a relationship and attempts to kiss her, but she refrains from doing so, “I’m sorry, Buddy. I don’t think this is a good idea…I got involved with a friend once before. It was a complete disaster.” (187) Buddy became convinced that “she thought of me more as a brother than a boyfriend.” However, after the prom, Sharon shockingly reveals to Buddy that she is gay, and forced to move to New Jersey because of the torment she and her family were enduring. The idea that Buddy thought Sharon wanted to date him was proven wrong because of her discouragement to become involved with a friend as well as her disclosing that she is gay. The first impression of Sharon onto Buddy completely contrasts from his point of view of her after the events at the prom and the motel occur. However, a sign of Buddy’s maturation, Buddy does not become completely unraveled due to Sharon revealing this fact to him, rather they enjoy the night together as friends and make it a night to

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Essay Christmas is a time where families come together to share in the christmas joy. Richard Rodrigues shows the negative impact of a newly wealthy family, and the change in the dynamic that the material success has brought. The once proud parents who always wanted success for their children have seen less and less of their kids, and the effect of that is conveyed in the detailed interaction between the members of their family. Sibling’s success that allows them to buy such expensive items has taken them away from their family and holidays have become a routine rather than a genuine interaction. Rodriguez himself also notices the emptiness in their relationship both between himself and his parents and everyone as a unit.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The film American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, views the American Dream as a constricting force that forces people into a materialistic, consumerist facade that adversely impacts their happiness. The characters are almost trapped by this ideology, and they have come to focus more on their material possessions and careers, rather than their family and those important to them. Throughout the film, we see constant examples where the characters value their material possessions over family, such as the couch scene with Lester and Carolyn. In this scene, Lester is attempting to kiss Carolyn, while she is visibly uncomfortable with his actions. Lester sees this as an attempt to rekindle their relationship, while Carlyn sees this as an uncomfortable moment, which…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream is a promise for liberty, opportunities, and social mobility. It is a set of ideals which attempts to form a society with few barriers where anyone can reach their ambitions regardless of their wealth or family. Throughout In Cold Blood, Truman Capote narrates the story of various individuals attempting to capture their share of the American Dream. One of Capote’s purposes in this nonfiction novel is to elucidate that those who have accomplished their dreams live with high contentment, but the American Dream allowing people to reach this state is noninclusive, ineffective, and fragile. Capote conveys the benefits of reaching one’s goals by employing a comparison of those who have succeeded with those who have fallen short.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The character Sonny in the short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin is a troubling character seeking for guidance and acceptance. Depression and substance abuse intertwine on several levels. Sonny’s character portrays a lost, unstable individual, who seeks freedom and redemption. Sonny was a product of his environment; he was exposed to the various lifestyles at the time. Sonny’s character makes a lot of unjust and questionable choices.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wealth plays a massive role in America. Society places a lot of attention on celebrities and other people with enormous fortunes. Americans constantly read about these wealthy people in magazines or watch them on television, desiring to have a similar life. The American Dream is the idea if people work hard, they will be able to obtain their own fortune. Numerous people believe that having a massive amount of money can resolve many of your problems.…

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The stories Saving Sourdi and A&P have two interesting main characters Nea and Sammy. Nea is a young Asian American girl that is from South Dakota and Sammy is a Nineteen year old boy from Massachusetts. In both of their stories they try and rescue people from situations that they make out to bigger than it is. Nea trying to save her sister and Sammy trying to save three girls that come into his store. They are both rescuers in their own sense but, they both ultimately end up falling short.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lust is often confused with love. Lust is purely physical attraction, sexual desire, and has no lasting effect. “Lust” by Susan Minot, is a deep story that involves a teenage girl, who is helpless and emotionally removed. This faceless and nameless girl wanders about, sexually, for three years, having sex with more than fifteen boys and several others who are unnamed. The female is the main character of the story.…

    • 1527 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In every young person’s life, there comes a moment in which they transform from fantasy dwelling, wild teenagers into adults. For many, it is a slow, steady process which can take many years; however, for many others, it happens in an instant. Such a transformation is experienced by the narrator of the short story “Greasy Lake" by Thomas Coraghessan Boyle. During a time when it was good to be bad, the narrator and his two friends felt they were the very definition of bad; however, these three teens, desperate for treacherous adventure and new experiences, ended up getting more than they bargained for after a prank goes awfully wrong. This incident causes them to run into some people more “bad” than themselves and to the see the uncensored reality…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Flick Play Analysis

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Flick is Pulitzer Prize winning play written by Annie Baker. It is set in an old movie theater, appropriately called “The Flick”. The movie theater is currently being upgraded from using an old 35 millimeter projector to a digital one. Just like the theater is undergoing changes, so are the lives of the play’s three characters, Avery, Sam, and Rose as they learn more about each other in the time they share at The Flick.…

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Insecurity And Temptation

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Relationship Between Insecurity and Temptation One of the most vital expressions in the story of Christianity is that one should try their best to stray away from temptation, as it will take a person on the path of evil. In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” it is obvious that the main character, Connie, has many problems. This leads her to undergo many forms of personal judgement, such as trying to reassure herself that she looks perfect every minute of every day.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tree Symbolism

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When her lips become chapped and torn while her throat feel raw and sore she only speaks through her drawings because she can’t physically speak. One of her assignments is to draw a tree thought the year. This tree symbolizes Melinda’s state of mind. At first it can’t find true form because Melinda can’t or doesn’t want to venture into her mind because it is too painful. Eventually the tree becomes old or attacked by lightning to show her pain.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Sammy, a 19-year-old boy, serves as a protagonist character in the A&P short Story. He initially works as a cashier in a small-town supermarket. The A&P story happens in a small community that carries a profound conservative opinion (Wheeler, 2011). At the start of the story, three young ladies walk into the store putting on bathing suits. The way how the girls go about dressing themselves makes people especially Sammy look upon them strangely, which reveals the rift within the young and the old generations.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The story covers the three-days in the life of Holden Caulfield; specifically the ones he feels had to do, led to and explain his psychological condition. It begins that he has just failed his way out of Pencey, and he must go home to face his parents. But before he leaves Pencey, Ackley, the “phony” and “pimply” boy who occupies the next room, comes over to bother him. Stradlater, Holden’s roommate, then comes into the scene as well to “freshen up for a date.” Although Stradlater is handsome he is a secret mess and Holden abnormally thinks he is a “phony.”…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Unusual But Common The American model family myth has shaped the way people view their own family. The model family myth interprets that a family should have a father figure, a mother figure, two children, a dog, and a beautiful house. Everyone wants their families to imitate the model family. The Mexican American boy in Gary Soto’s article sees the perfect family on television and he wishes his family would be just that.…

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The best things in life aren´t things, but it is easy to lose yourself in a world where values such as capitalism and materialism is paramount. In the short story “The Decline of the West” which is written by Hanif Kureishi and published in 2010, in Kureishis collection of short stories; “Collected stories”. In the short story we meet Mike, Mike comes home after a terrible day, he worked in the financial industry, but he has just been fired. He has been used to work twelve hours a day, and therefor he has a difficult relationship with his family, because he has spent more time working than paying attention to his family.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics