She's a Maniac, Maniac on the Floor...

Let me start off by saying that I honestly did not like Lorrie Moore's "You're Ugly, Too." The main cause of my distaste for the story lies in Zoe's unlikeable character. To put it simply, she is just too weird and judgmental. It seems as though unhappiness in her life from a career that "was not easy for her," coupled with an already-evident eccentric nature, has caused Zoe to careen towards the brink of insanity. She is socially awkward at best, as displayed in her failed interaction with Earl. She internally admits that the root of her failures with men lies in her tendency to plan the relationship well into the future and constantly end the relationship with what in her mind is an inevitably messy divorce. Instead of taking a chance with someone, she stubbornly remains pessimistic throughout.

As I analyzed Zoe's personality, it occurred to me that her persona is created as a result not only of her own self-image, but also by others' judgments. The narrator often includes tidbits of what can be assumed to be student evaluations of Zoe, which all share a common theme of incredulous and arrogant criticism of Zoe's eccentric teaching style and opposing viewpoints. The inclusion of these lines indicate that Zoe is greatly influenced by others' opinions of her. Yet instead of conforming to others' ideals for her, Zoe does the exact opposite. It seems that she almost tries to be completely off the wall and controversial just to irritate those around her. Yet this self-defense mechanism of attempting to rebel against society reflects her own insecurity. She is so influenced by society's opinion of her that instead of acknowledging her eccentricities and attempt to resolve them, she spitefully embraces these eccentricities and changes her character to fit the mold which society has given for her. By the end of the story, Zoe is unsure of what she even is, as she states that Earl is "trapped out on a balcony with--with what?" (p 370). Zoe's eccentricity reaches dizzying heights, and she finds herself unable to come back down to earth.