Louisa, Please Come Home by Shirley Jackson

896 Words2 Pages

“Louisa, Please Come Home,” by Shirley Jackson, is a first-person narrative story that tells the experience of Louisa in the small town of Rockville during the 1950s. The main characters are Louisa Tether, Mrs. Peacock, Carol Tether, Mrs. Tether, Mr. Tether, and Paul. Mr. and Mrs. Tether, Mrs. Peacock, and Paul work together to solve the problem of Louisa runs away from home. Throughout the story, Shirley Jackson shows the life of Louisa, and ultimately, aspects of this character’s personality shine.

The main character, Louisa Tether is a nineteen-year-old-girl, who is fair-haired, five feet four inches tall, and weighs one hundred twenty-six pounds. Her personality could be described to be intelligent, imprudent, and organize. The following scenes from the book exemplify these three personality traits. One attribute of Louisa has that is shown throughout the whole story is that she is intelligent. An example of her cleverness takes place during the beginning of the story when Louisa beguiles her family. “I bought a round-trip ticket. That would make my family think I was coming back. Then my family would not start looking for me too quickly.” This requires the cleverness because Louisa buys the round-trip ticket. Therefore, her family would think that she plans to come back. Her family then would not start looking for her too quickly. Additionally, Louisa’s cleverness is further illustrated in the novel when she changes her appearance. “I bought a tan raincoat in a department store in Crain. I had left the home wearing the new jacket. I left it on a counter in the store. Someone probably bought it.” Louisa purposely leaves her outlandish jacket on a counter in the department store because she wants someone to buy the conspicuo...

... middle of paper ...

...ory progresses, Louisa’s personality begins to develop. Shirley Jackson’s characteristics are revealed, which include intelligent, impudent, and organize. Shirley successfully develops a character throughout the story with a distinct personality. “Louisa, Please Come Home,” which is my favorite book, makes me feel frustrated because I have never seen a 19-year-old-girl would dare to leave her parents for three years, and her family worries about her. Imagine a person who leaves his/her family for three years, his/her mom would feel dishearten. In all, I think this story is excellent because a famous writer writes this story. Famous writes generally put their effects on their stories because the authors want to bring the readers into their text. I think Louisa is a good role model. So, if you ever come across Shirley Jackson’s book, be sure to pick it up and read it.

More about Louisa, Please Come Home by Shirley Jackson

Open Document