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Literary Analysis of Lawns

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In Mona Simpson's “Lawns”, Simpson uses setting and plot to pull the reader in. The story starts off with a young college girl named Jenny who works in a mail room and steals from other students. The story later reveals that Jenny is being sexually abused by her father. In “Lawns” Mona Simpson use's Jenny's sexual abuse to demonstrate how she is detached from herself. Early in the story you figure out that Jenny works in a mail room and she steals mail from other students around her campus. It's almost as Jenny feels no remorse for stealing from others. “I can't tell you the feeling walking down the street with 20 dollars in my purse, stolen earrings in my pocket. I don't get caught. That's the amazing thing.” (Simpson 445) Jenny gets a rush off stealing items. She doesn't care that its not hers. The only thing she cares about is she got free earrings and 20 dollars. Jenny later goes on to explain how she's stealing from. “I stash them in my pack and throw them out. Just people I know. Susan Brown I open, Annie Larson, Larry Helprin. All the popular kids from my high school.” (Simpson 446) Jenny isn't stealing from strangers. It's almost like she had a vendetta against these group of kids. Mid story the reader finds out that Jenny is sexually abused by her father. Jenny knew that she could use her dads love for her as a weapon, she used it to get materialistic things. “I wake up in the middle of the night... my dad's down there, he's got my nightgown worked up like a frill around my neck and my legs hooked over his shoulders.” (Simpson 457) Simpson goes on to tell you that this has been happening to Jenny since an early age. Jenny seemed to be fine with what was happening. “...I was the one giving orders. From then on, I got what I wanted.” (Simpson 460) Jenny knew that after her father sexually abused her that she could abuse the opportunity to get what she

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