The High Hopes of Annabel and Midge in The Standard - Essay Example

They wore a lot of make-up, thin bright dresses, tilted slippers fancifully strapped. They looked conspicuous cheap and charming, so much so tht they attracted a lot of attention from the young men around. Their conversation could be considered ordinary and foolish, but typically that of working girls who lived at home with her family and paid half of their salary to its support. It cannot be denied, however, that both had a strong sense of the imaginative as proven by their game of inheriting a million dollars.

Like children they were not above having tiffs at the slightest provocation, but making up a little later as though nothing happened. This “game” was cooked up by Annabel which was no more than the ancient sport of what-would-you-do-if-you-had-a-million-dollars? One must suppose that someone dies and leaves you a million dollars. A condition in the bequest is that the heiress must spend every nickel of the money on herself. This game tells us that both girls long for a change in their socio-economic status.

They desire to be wealthy enough to buy clothes worn by wealthy people and accompanying adornments such as pearl necklaces. They were both of the belief that it can’t hurt anyone for after all, it was just a game. Parker was well known for her sharp tongue and malicious wit. This definitely shows in the style of her story. Consider her description of the food the girls ate on weekends, they lunched on sugar, starches, oils and butter-fats. Usually they ate sandwiches of spongy new white bread greased with butter and mayonnaise.

They ate thick wedges of cake lying wet beneath ice cream and whipped cream and melted chocolate gritty with nuts. As alternates, they ate patties, sweating beads of infereior ol, containing bits of bland meat bogged in pale, stiffening sauce, etc.” Parker’s witty description of fatty foods