One element that was unclear while reading Milk and Snails was whom the characters
are. Some details are given about Jenny, that she’s a ballerina that just got
married, and that she has an eating disorder. However, very little else is
discussed about her. With the way she treats her younger sister and acts she appears
to be the stereotypical bitchy older sister; the kind depicted in children
movies from the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. Because we only see her in these two short
scenes she is not allowed to have any sort of arc or character development,
making her come off as a little flat and one dimensional.
The other character in the story, the narrator, is also
given sparse description and development. Most of what is in the story is the
narrator complaining about her sister. Little is said about who she is. It
feels as if she is only there to talk about how crazy and obnoxious her sister is
with no regard for her own goals and desires. Is she secretly jealous of her
sister’s dancing abilities? Does she have to fight for her parents’ attention?
Who is this brother-in-law? Who is this narrator? I can understand why dramatically
it makes sense to end with the line about bulimia and baby fat, but it does
leave a lot to be desired for in terms of emotional response.
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