Jacy was at a loss for an answer. For days she could not get the evening off her mind. It seemed to her she had come off very badly with Bobby. He didn’t call her for any dates afterward, and every other boy who had ever been near her had promptly called her for dates. The only conclusion possible was that Bobby found her backward and country, and if there was anything she hated and loathed it was to be thought backward and country. It was clear that she was going to have to get rid of her virginity. She gave the matter much thought and came up with a plan that seemed to have multiple advantages. The week after graduation the senior class was going on what was called a senior trip. For four years the class had saved up money for it, and had given bake sales, conducted scrap iron drives, and done all sorts of other chores to make the money. They were going all the way to San Francisco and back on the bus and it would take every bit of the money they had made. She and Duane would thus be together practically all the time for a whole week, and it occurred to her that if she let Duane sleep with her sometime during the trip it would solve all kinds of problems. For one thing it would make the senior trip. She and Duane would be regarded as extraordinarily daring, and all the kids would talk about them all the way home. Also, if she slept with Duane a time or two it would make it that much easier for her to break up with him after the senior trip was over. Duane would have something beautiful to remember, and he wouldn’t be able to say she had promised him anything she hadn’t delivered.
Then when she got back from the trip she would no longer be a virgin and could set about taking Bobby Sheen away from Annie-Annie. If she could get him in love with her before the summer was over she might forget about the girls’ school and go to S.M.U., where Bobby was going. They might even pledge related fraternities.
The only flaw in the whole plan was Duane. It occurred to her that he might not want to breakup with her even if she let him sleep with her before breaking the news. He was dead set on their getting married in the summer, and he was a very stubborn boy. She decided that the best thing to do would be to make an ally of Sonny—she knew Sonny would do anything she wanted him to if she played up to him the least bit. If Duane got ugly and wouldn’t quit trying to go with her she could then date Sonny a few times.
(McMurtry 138-139)
This passage has a strong impact on the reader and his opinion of Jacy. The passage portrays Jacy’s careless and selfish attitude as well as her complete disregard for others’ feelings. McMurtry perfectly portrays this through his careful use of language in this passage. The omniscient voice provides insight, especially connected with stream of consciousness and simple language. Also, he carefully distinguishes between perception and reality regarding Jacy’s planning.
McMurtry uses an omniscient voice to be able to look deeply into all of the characters’ innermost thoughts, and often ulterior motives, as seen in this passage. Due to this voice, the reader is shown Jacy’s plans to win Bobby Sheen over by using Duane to gain experience. Otherwise, the reader might have thought that Jacy actually loved Duane as much as he loved her. Instead, the reader is shown that she only wants to be with Duane to “make the senior trip” and to be seen as “extraordinarily daring” (McMurtry 139). The reader is shown Jacy’s flawed thought processes as well. For example, she decides that “the only conclusion possible was that Bobby found her backward and country, and if there was anything she hated and loathed it was to be thought backward and country” (McMurtry 138). This shows that Jacy is hidebound, and is only able to view things the way she wants.
These “backward and country” thoughts are also examples of stream of consciousness, which McMurtry uses to emphasize the omniscient voice and to make the reader feel as though he is actually reading the characters’ minds. In this passage, Jacy somehow connects Bobby to fundraising to college to Sonny in just a few paragraphs. This stream of consciousness shows, again, how Jacy only sees people as pawns in her plan; their feelings are completely unimportant to her.
Also seen in this passage, as well as in the rest of the book, are very plain language and simple words and sentence structure. This creates authenticity because all the characters in the book are plain, country people without higher education. The town is actually “backward and country,” as Jacy fears, so the language backs up this point. Overall, the rhetorical devices used all add to the characterization of Jacy as a manipulative, reckless, and very self-centered girl.
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