Constructions of "The Nice Girl"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how both Daly and Blume's novels present an essentially similar framework for the female protagonist to define herself and how the question of the female's sexuality becomes the main conduit of self-definition open to her, a way to define her new independence. It looks at how for Daly, her main character is not actively sexual, Angie's decision to date over the summer-more than any other decision during her previous four years of high school, her future college career, and current intellectual accomplishments-becomes the defining moment of Angie's life. In comparison, it shows how for Blume, sexuality becomes a kind of proving ground for her main character's individuality and how Catherine's discretion about making the jump into sexuality will change things, in the words of the title, forever.

From the Paper:

"Maureen Daly's world of Seventeenth Summer could not seem farther away from Blume's world of sexually open teens. Daly's central character is a virgin, almost unaware of her sexual desire. Angie is charmed when a boy tells her that the wind looks nice blowing through her hair, although he makes no real reference to the rest of her physical body. Although the books take place in roughly the same place in time in the narrator's lives, in the summer between high school and college for Daly's main character, and during the senior year of high school for Blume's central female protagonist , the two books initially seem to be from different planets-Daly's teens say 'Gee whiz,' and worry constantly about what the parents of their significant others will say. "

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