The Contradicting Lives Of Two Sisters

8 Pages 2057 Words

In the short story “You’re Ugly, Too” by Lorrie Moore, the two sisters, Evan and Zoë, have a few similarities, but their wide range of differences truly set the two women apart from one another. Evan lives in New York and works as a “food designer”, and Zoë lives in the middle of nowhere as a college professor. The similarities between the two do seem to give them the strong bond of sisters. As I began reading this I would not imagine these two women to be related. I will start by discussing the girls as children, then go into their careers since they have grown up. After this, I will talk about where they live and their relationships. Also, I will relate the two women’s personalities to how they are different. Their lifestyles now are significantly different from what they were as children.
On page 360 of Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense (8th edition) the narrator suggests that Evan may actually be becoming more like her sister, Zoë. The narrator states, “ When she was little, Evan had always been affectionate and devoted. Zoë had always taken care of her, advising, reassuring her, until recently, when it seemed Evan had started advising and reassuring her. It startled Zoë” (360).Zoë being the big sister that she was had always grown up taking care of her younger sister. As children, the older siblings always look out for the younger ones. It is likely that as children these two women were very close always looking out for one another. Then, as they matured, Evan and Zoë grew further apart and more different from one another. The fact that Zoë’s younger sister was now looking out for her was what frightened Zoë. Zoë was becoming less and less like Evan all the time. On page 354, the narrator says, “Zoë was discovering something she never suspected she had…Once she had pampered her students, singing them songs, letting them call her at home, even, and ask personal questions. Now s...