Holly is Miranda’s friend and roommate in Boston. She is a year older than Miranda and a more free-minded kind of girl who tries to get Miranda to see things from her point of view. She is a girl who just wants to have fun and not necessarily always thinks of the consequences of her actions. That shows when she often sleeps with her new friend Brian on week nights, and then subsequently gets visited by her boyfriend Tom in the weekends. Holly’s role in the story is to put Miranda into a situation where she has to choose, to tell the reader what kind of girl Miranda is; what her values are. That seems pretty obvious when Miranda says that she wants to be owned, and that she will marry Michael. (p. 4, l. 95) Holly represents the common opinion and she is the contrast to Miranda.
When Miranda comes home to her parents, they are having a conversation about her pregnancy with her and Michael. Their reaction reflects the society they live in and they are, surprisingly, more than understanding and sympathizing – or so it would seem. As a true product of their environment, they strongly advise Miranda to get an abortion. Miranda’s parents do not want a daughter who does not study and therefore cannot get an education. As her mother says, she will end up as a dumb little house-wife. (p. 5, l. 147) They want her to have an abortion, so she does not end up in misery. That is not only best for her and Michael, but also for the unborn child. Miranda is mortified at the thought of killing her child. She does not care about the hardships – she is willing to accept the responsibility of the child and raise it. When her parents realise that they are not reaching Miranda, they turn to Michael in an effort to influence him.
Michael is young and at school, just the same as Miranda, and although he loves her and accepts the responsibility of the child, he is thinking of his future as well as. When he first heard the news, he soon talked about marriage, because he felt that it was the right thing to do. On the other hand Michael is relieved that her parents are trying to talk her out of it, because he realized that he is not ready to be a father. Michael knows he cannot forsake the baby, otherwise he would scar Miranda. He cannot look Miranda in the eyes; probably because he feels ashamed and guilty about the whole situation. Michael is hurting Miranda when he acts the way he does. She can see that his eyes are full of relief and gratitude when her parents come to the rescue for him. In a sense they buy Michael because they know that if he wont help raise the child, neither will Miranda. Unfortunately, Michael soon realises his mistake – by giving up on the baby, he is also giving up on Miranda. You could say that the choice was between Miranda and the child, or Michael and his future. “…She looked at Michael. He looked at her, guilty, ashamed (p.6, l. 195)…He had both won and lost, and his unhappy face struggled to endure both. (p.6, l. 197)
The central theme in this short story is teenage pregnancy and the worries and difficulties it brings along with it. The decision to have an abortion or not is a very complicated, because it brings up intense feelings and moral questions, and this often place people in difficult situations. Miranda is an example of a girl who has a lot of thoughts after becoming pregnant. She truly wants to have the baby, but ends up giving in to the fight with her parents. Miranda falls under the traditional values of what is “the right thing to do,” but at the same time she abandons her chance for happiness. That leads us to another theme in the story: Society’s view on success and happiness.
Today, the ultimate idea of success is to please ourselves first, get that major degree and job – then plan a family and a future. Miranda sees it all more simply; she has a baby, she is willing to take responsibility, and plans her future along a different path than society wants for her.
Every so often you have to listen to your heart, in order to make yourself happy. Maybe that means going against everyone you know and all you’ve been taught, but sometimes, that is the only way to be happy.
