Characters
The most important characters in the short story “I’m Having Fun!” are Diane and Neil, who form a couple. However, Diane’s mother and Don represent important secondary characters relevant to the plot, so we will also discuss them briefly.
Diane
Diane is the protagonist and the narrator of the short story.
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Outer characterisation
Diane’s outer characterisation reveals that she is an 18-year old high school graduate (p. 35, l. 2-3) with a part-time job at a fashion store (p. 36, l. 1).
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Inner characterisation
Her inner characterisation points out that she is a young woman who desires not to be considered a “child any more” (p. 35, l. 1), yet who acts like one occasionally.
One the one hand, Diane appears to be a conscientious girl, taking a part-time job to pay for her holiday, knowing her mother’s financial situation was not so good after their father had left them. Furthermore, the fact that she has a backup plan in case her modelling plans fail, suggests her to be rather mature for her age, initially: “…I’d taken the precaution of passing my typing exams, and I was prepared to accept office work if I had to— but not before I’d had a go at modelling.” (p. 36, ll. 12-14)
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Neil
Neil is the second important character in the short story.
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Outer characterisation
In terms of outer characterisation, Neil is depicted as a stable young man, working for a bank (p. 36, l. 2) and forming a couple with Diane.
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Inner characterisation
Part of his inner characterisation is also done directly by Diane, who sees him as “clever” (p. 36, l. 3), “very generous” (p. 36, l. 4) and “thoughtful” (p. 36, l. 38).
However, unlike Diane who still wants to enjoy her youth, Neil comes across as more conventional and down-to-earth.
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Don
Don is a secondary character in the short story, representing romantic temptation, as his name also reminds us of the famous “Don Juan”.
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Diane’s mother
Diane’s mother is an episodic secondary character in the short story, who only appears in the beginning of the narrative.
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