Project 2

Logan Huntze

5 April, 2019

Ms. H

English 205

Project #2

            In the story “About the House Girl,” I believe Ifapi was viewed as a price possession by the author and the main characters of this story and she herself did not believe that as much as they did. She grew up getting babied by her father and Aunt, but as she grew up she wanted to be herself and live her own life, and that happened after she met Patipir. My attitude towards Ifapi is positive based off of the personal decisions she made throughout the story and her attitude towards every situation she was put in. In my eyes, I see Ifapi as a shy girl that knows her worth and is determined to live a good life. She is also perceived as a determined, smart girl by other characters in this story and she proves to everyone that that's just what she is throughout the story. 

            The author’s attitude towards Ifapi was positive and uplifting the whole entire story, and the way he described her made it obvious that he thought she was special. Ifapi didn’t made an appearance in the story until half way through, but leading up to the not knowing much information about her, the author still described her as this golden girl. We as readers were not able to understand the things he was mentioning about her until she appeared in the story, but the author did a good job leading us up to the event she was spotted at. Everyone was at the beach, late at night, and the dancing and singing all meant a lot to the people in the story. When Ifapi was first spotted by Patipr, the author described Ifapi as “Her skirt and front apron were heavy fringes of shells strung close together, each string tufted with a red woodpecker crest. She was barefoot, and as she bent to the fire or lifted a basket of incense to the Leader, the play and motion of thigh and leg showed through the fringe of shells which answered her every movement with a low rustle as of a receding surf playing shell against shell on the beach.” (45)  This quote by the author is when he is first introducing her at the beach, and the way he talks about her and describes her outfit is not like he is talking about a simple girl. He madet clear the her dress made of shells presented her as special, and a simple girl would not have something like this on; She was special. Throughout the whole story, this is the kind of tone the author described Ifapi as and that is what made it clear that he cherished Ifapi for her personality and presentation.

            My attitude towards Ifapi is very positive. In the start of the story, we were vaguely introduced to her as some sick girl who lived with some old lady, which was her aunt. It was hard to paint a clear picture of who and what Ifapi was, and why she was kept inside at this old ladies house all the time. However, as the story went on we were re-introduced to Ifapi, and this time it was at a public event, with tons of people. At first, I thought this was odd because she had been described the whole story as being some girl who never left home, and when I found out she was out at this dance party at the beach made me wonder.

            As the story continued on, and Patipir continued chasing Ifapi around as the girl of his dreams, Ifapi began to be a main character. She was no longer some sick girl inside a house; Instead she was a girl with determination to go out and live her own life and make her own decisions. This is ultimately what she did when her and Patipir decided to get married. She made one last visit to her father and explained to  him the situation, and surprisingly he was supportive. This story really shows how Ifapi changed as a person, and how she matured and made her own life decisions in a short amount of time. For me, I respected her more for this and my positive opinion of her grew since she was able to leave a house she was babied in, go out and meet new people, and then made a decision that changed her life forever.

            One character who had a strong opinion about Ifapi was her Aunt. Ifapi lived with her Aunt during the story, and for a young girl life Ifapi I think he Aunt made it difficult to live with. Although her Aunt cared about her very much, I think she was too protective of Ifapi and did not allow her to go out and socialize like she should be doing as a young girl. One scene in the story when Ifapi’s Aunt showed overprotection of Ifapi was when Patipir was at the house. Patipir was so interested in Ifapi that he walked over to her in the house and put his hand on her. When he did this, Ifapi’s Aunt replied with “Do not touch her. She is very sick. You mustn’t ever do that again!” (45-46) This dialog that came out of the Aunt’s mouth really showed how protective she was over Ifapi, and she even said she was sick when really she wasn’t. This behavior from the Aunt occurred throughout the whole story, but in the end after Patipir talked to her and explained to her that him and Ifapi were going to leave and get married, I think that was the point where her Aunt was finally able to let go of Ifapi and accept the fact that she is off to live her own life.

            Another character who was protective but accepting of Ifapi was her father. Ifapi’s father sent her to live with her Aunt, hoping she would be well nurtured and protected. This definitely happened while living with her Aunt, but Ifapi also wanted some freedom. The dance and sing parties she would go to at night was a way for her to get out and explore the world outside of being stuck inside all day at her Aunts. When Ifapi and Patipir met and made the decision to go away and get married, and leave their hometowns for good, Ifapi had to go let her father know the news. In today’s world, before people get married they normally know each other’s families first. In this case, it was not like that. Ifpai’s father had known who Patipir was from a little kid, but did not personally know him well. When Ifapi talked to her father and  let him know who she was marrying, he was very accepting and supportive of Ifapi’s decision. His mindset of being protective of his young daughter had changed, and he was finally able to allow her to make her own decisions in life and he would be happy with them. The father’s sending off words to Ifapi and Patipir were, “It is good, my son-in-law, my daughter.” (48) These words prove that the father is now happy with his daughters decisions and he can trust her on her own. His opinion definitely changed from a protective dad to a supportive and trustworthy dad, and he let Ifapi go on her own to start a new life with her husband.

            Ifapi viewserself in a few different ways. She knew she was valued by her family, but I don’t think she thought of herself as worthy as her family did. Being stuck inside at her Aunt’s house and being babied all day left her to be somewhat irritated I think. Every young kid wants to go out and have fun, and she really only had one opportunity to do that and that was at night at the dance and sing parties. However, she also valued the traits she had, and didn’t fall for just any man. Patipir had been on her mind since she was young, and at the parties I truly think she was after no other man but him, and one night she finally saw him. This shows that she had good self control and she knew what she wanted. She was responsible in this way and viewed herself as worthy like her family did. Although she didn’t see herself as a golden angel like her family did, she did know that she was important and she valued herself. She grew up being responsible and maturing each day. This helped her become the woman she was at the end of the story, and that woman was self loving and confident of herself and others. She truly grew to love herself like her friends and family members in this story.