The following version of this story was used to create this study guide: Wallace, David Foster. “Everything Is Green.” Girl with Curious Hair. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2014. 229-230. Print.

This story is just under 700 words in length. It takes place in a trailer that is located in a trailer park. The two main characters are called Mitch and Mayfly. Mitch and Mayfly appear to be in a relationship. Mitch stands near the sink of the trailer’s kitchenette while Mayfly sits on a sofa. Mitch is 48 years old, and Mayfly is significantly younger, although her age is not stated. Mitch says to Mayfly that he works very hard to provide for her and to give her all the love and attention he can give. However, he says that he has been unhappy in the relationship lately, and he believes that his unhappiness is due to a lack of reciprocal effort and consideration from Mayfly.

The narrative implies that Mitch may have recently caught Mayfly engaged in sexual activities with another person, although this point remains ambiguous to the reader. Mitch reiterates that he feels like he invests so much into the relationship and receives little in return from Mayfly. Mayfly simply looks out of a window of the trailer and comments on how green everything is. Mitch looks out a different window in the trailer and notices all of the things outside that are not green. He then turns back to look at Mayfly, and the story ends.