Essay - Reflections of Us All Meridel's Novel, the Girl Is A...

Reflections of Us All

Meridel's novel, The Girl is a story that strikes many chords. A story that makes a statement that can be heard just as loudly today as it w***** yesterday in 1978 when first written. Clara is a woman that represents all women, the weaker side in a society that preys on just that. The Girl is a woman who represents all us all, too; she is the stronger, more proactive side ***** the face of anything. Both of these ***** are making peace with their pasts and their future. The summary ***** this story is the most present in ***** lines Clara says as she dies:

Memory is all we got. I cried, we got to remem*****r. We got to remember everything. *****t is the glory, Amelia said, the *****. We got to remember to be able to fight. Got to write down the names. Make a list. Nobody can be for*****ten. They know if we don't ***** we *****'t point them out. They got their guilt wiped out. The last thing they take is memory. (126)

In short, this is a ***** about glory and about ***** and about accepting your own choices, ***** own memory, and choosing not to feel guilty about it. This is a story about one woman learning to live a life she is proud of, while forgiving her past deeds as she approaches ***** death. ***** is a prostitute who has spent her life committing ***** that ***** is very ashamed of. She chose ***** wander the streets at night in the bitter cold until men came to buy her body. She decided to walk ***** ***** when she was sick instead of resting and getting well.(52) While she could have chosen the hard struggle to honest money and health, she took the easy way out and in the end paid the largest price. This struggle represents ***** way same struggle ***** wo***** face when it comes to their relationships ***** men. Sometimes *****'s a choice of sacrific*****g the self for a ro*****d that is less bumpy. It was Clara's fear of not being wanted ***** drove her out in***** the street and kept her there until it killed her.(105) This same fear lives ***** ***** all.

***** we see Clara tell her story to the Girl, we ***** that The Girl is exactly what we want for Clara, ***** see ***** Clara is changing and turning into the ***** she wants to be, but it ***** only as her death is fast-approaching. By looking closely at these wo***** and their lives we can see the harsh oppression *****y are living under and how they struggle to ***** better women in spite ***** it. The Girl and Clara became close fri*****s as they sh***** living space in the Depression. The ***** *****, "I liked to be with Clara..."(1). Clara said about Amelia, "She *****stands me, she thinks we are all important." (2) Tragic*****y, in the end, ***** learn that most