Character Traits in Skipping The Prom By David Levithan

I believe the main ideas in the short story Skipping The Prom are nothing lasts forever and living in the moment. I say this because the narrator says “we’d been going out for five months, and we knew we wouldn’t be in another five months.” This shows the main idea nothing lasts forever, they both knew that their relationship would end when they leave for university/college. So, they decided that they want to spend their last important moments together rather than sharing these precious moments with their peers.

The narrator also says “We were sad about this, but not sad enough to change it… we prided ourselves on our realism.” This shows the main idea living in the moment. I say this because they both knew that their relationship would be ending soon. However instead of focusing on the sad part they decided to live in the moment and enjoy each other’s company and spend time together.

Get quality help now

Writer Lyla

Verified writer

Proficient in: Free Essays

5 (876)

“ Have been using her for a while and please believe when I tell you, she never fail. Thanks Writer Lyla you are indeed awesome ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Simple

Kelly is a simple person you can see this in the story when the narrator says “but decided to go for comfort instead. Instead of heading someplace fancy, we went to our local diner.”

Mature

Kelly is mature you can see this throughout the whole story. For example, when the narrator says “We wanted to be realistic. We prided ourselves on our realism.” This shows how mature both the characters are at such a young age. Uninterested I say this because Kelly did not want to go to prom even though when you are in grade 12 most girls start planning what to wear and who to go with months in advance.

Independent I would say Kelly is independent because she knows that their relationship will end when summer ends. She knows that it will not continue and she is okay with that even though she is sad about it. This shows that she is not dependent on her boyfriend.

Determined

I would say Kelly is determined because this night took a whole week to plan and, in the story, if their friends found out they might have joined them. Kelly was determined to not let others find out.

Cliché

In the story you can see that Kelly is cliché. I say this because their date was taken place in a middle school field which consisted of cliché elements. For example, reading to each other and a candle light picnic.

Detail oriented

Kelly is very detail oriented you can see this throughout the story because they have their whole night planned out bit by bit.

Observant

When the main characters talk about their friends in their conversations. They know very explicit details about their friends. For example, “Poor Cynthia is sitting at the table, afraid to dance.” This is a very observant detail about a friend.

In my opinion the main characters wanted to be by themselves on prom night rather than being a part of the group. This is because they never spent time as a couple alone. The narrator indicates this when he says “Even though we were a couple, it was rare for us to get a chance to go out on our own.” Furthermore, they wanted alone time so they could get to know each other better and be more intimate with each other.

Works cited

1. Haddon, M. (2003). The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Doubleday.
2. Hemingway, E. (1927). The Sun Also Rises. Scribner.
3. Kerouac, J. (1957). On the Road. Viking Press.
4. Lee, H. (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. J.B. Lippincott & Co.
5. O'Brien, T. (1990). The Things They Carried. Houghton Mifflin.
6. Salinger, J.D. (1951). The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company.
7. Shakespeare, W. (1597). Romeo and Juliet. First Quarto.
8. Steinbeck, J. (1937). Of Mice and Men. Covici Friede.
9. Woolf, V. (1925). Mrs. Dalloway. Hogarth Press.
10. Yates, R. (1961). Revolutionary Road. Little, Brown and Company.