Misconceptions of Intimacy
Erin McGraw’s collection, The Good Life, focuses on stories of daily battles. In “The Best Friend”, “One For My Baby”, and “Daily Affirmations”, they provide evidence of bumpy relationships in the characters lives. In the stories, the common misconception between the characters is that their relationship means more to one specific person than the other, however, in the end, the lopsided relationships seem to work out just like that, lopsided.
Sue thought Mona was her “best friend”, however, Mona thought otherwise. In the story “The Best Friend”, Sue and Mona are depicted as that of best friends, however, in reality, things were not quite as they appeared. Sue considered Mona to be her best friend; sadly, in Mona’s eyes, Sue was simply a girl she tolerated because she felt she had to. Mona had had enough of Sue, “By our senior year I couldn’t bear to watch her practice, although she chattered about auditions when we talked in the dressing room, conversations I myself started because I felt pity for her” (McGraw 138). The two girls attended the same dance academy where their time spent together increased greatly. All the other dancers could see Mona’s despise for Sue, while Sue seemed somewhat oblivious to it all. As the story continued, Mona and Sue went through life together, where their obstacles and even their accomplishments brought them closer together. Through it all, the ups and the downs, the laughs and the cries, the two found themselves to have a better understanding of what life was like for the other, causing them to become true friends. At the end of the story, Sue and Mona came together and formed the friendship that Sue had always thought they had, and now Mona could feel the same.
Aless is in love with Patrick, however, he is emotionally unavailable right now, and is only looking for a friend. In “One For My Baby”, Patrick feels he and Aless have an intimate friendship that he would prefer stay as is. The sudden death...