Characterisation of Marie

In the following section, we have highlighted some important things in the story that can help you characterise the main characters in this short story, which is very important when you work with this short story. It is through these characters and their differences that the story truly unfolds.

Marie

Marie’s character is a mixture of paradoxical traits.

• She may only be thirteen-years-old, but she is in fact a child-woman:

“With her arms folded across her chubby breasts” (l. 2)

“She saw that Marie had a smear of bright pink lipstick on her thin lips.” (ll. 13-14)

• Marie is not ready for the adult world, but her brutal childhood has swiftly transformed her into a target for sexuality and violence.
  • She is indeed a child, as she tries to brag about th...