Who is Cassandra G. Lewis from Lost in the City: Stories and what is their importance? Lost_in_the_City English & Literature Cassandra G. Lewis | Lost in the City: Stories

Cassandra G. Lewis, the protagonist of The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed, is a foul-mouthed and bad-tempered teenage girl in the process of flunking out of high school. She smokes heavily. The boys that she knows have nicknamed her Tank and Mack Truck, describing both her physicality and exceptionally forceful personality. Cassandra dislikes school and hopes that one day a teacher will give her some pretense of an excuse to start a physical altercation. Cassandra appears to be more-or-less homeless, although she frequently stays with her sister and brother-in-law. Her relationship even with these caregivers is quite strained and she drives a car that she stole from her brother-in-law. Cassandra idolizes Rhonda Ferguson, her friend and a neighborhood celebrity. Rhonda has recorded a song that is becoming a hit on the radio. Cassandra mistakenly believes that Rhonda has found a way to escape the crushing poverty of the neighborhood. Cassandra has several friends although she treats them poorly. She is at least marginally attractive on some level because a young man she meets asks her to the movies. Her natural suspicions prevent her from fully accepting. Cassandra gets quite exasperated with her friends who always talk about men and sex because she feels the constant chatter is demeaning and insipid. While Cassandra is quite abrasive and refuses to apologize, she does understand the subtle complexities of friendship.