Sense of Self

The author uses this theme as the primary source of inner conflict in the stories, as many of the narrators/protagonists are experiencing confusion about who they truly are and who they want to be. In “Sarahland,” the narrator's friendships with the other Sarahs in the dorm hold her back from discovering and becoming her true self. She is not attending college to find a husband like the Sarahs, she actually has career aspirations, and also she is queer and not interested in relationships with men at all. She gradually begins to find her true self when she takes the Integrated Liberal Studies course and spends time with Sasha, who is queer and also has intellectual interests that Sarah finds compelling. Similarly, in “Naked Furniture,” Sarah drops out of school as a means of rejecting traditional narratives about how a woman's life is supposed...