The loss of innocence
is a theme on which Packer devotes a great deal of her attention to in her stories.
Summary
In the collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, each of the central characters are led to some realization. Throughout the stories, it can be observed that characters have lost their innocence in multiple ways. In an interview with Amber Dermont of Gulf Coast, ZZ Packer explained, "Characters, if they’re going to be “round,” necessarily go through a change; they must shift their way of viewing the world. Even if they don’t do anything with their new knowledge, they now have that knowledge, and internally, at least, they’ll never be the same. I guess I’m fascinated by this, this point of revolution, this point of change around which characters revolve." Packer's fascination with this metamorphosis is prevalent and observable in Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. Each pivotal character is challenged in what they think about themselves and the world around them, and they are faced with some sort of "new knowledge."
In the collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, each of the central characters are led to some realization. Throughout the stories, it can be observed that characters have lost their innocence in multiple ways. In an interview with Amber Dermont of Gulf Coast, ZZ Packer explained, "Characters, if they’re going to be “round,” necessarily go through a change; they must shift their way of viewing the world. Even if they don’t do anything with their new knowledge, they now have that knowledge, and internally, at least, they’ll never be the same. I guess I’m fascinated by this, this point of revolution, this point of change around which characters revolve." Packer's fascination with this metamorphosis is prevalent and observable in Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. Each pivotal character is challenged in what they think about themselves and the world around them, and they are faced with some sort of "new knowledge."
Text Examples and Explanations
- Brownies
- In Brownies, there is a troop of black girl scouts, and a group of white girl scouts that we later find out are delayed learners. The black troop wants to get revenge on the white troop for calling them "Niggers," and so they come up with a plan, and the girls end up calling the other troop "retarded." This causes many problems for the troops and their leaders. The main character, Snot, comes to a conclusion at the end, saying, "When you've been made to feel bad for so long, you jump at the chance to do it to others...'No,' I said, and suddenly knew there was something mean in the world that I could not stop" (p. 31).
- In an interview with the BBC, ZZ Packer claims about the story, "...I wanted to show how, this is all part of this.. larger cycle. I mean these girls don't even know why they have the anger that they have... I wanted to show that here's this one time in which you have people who view themselves as being the victims that actually become victimizers. You see that all too often in the world, where you would imagine that people who have been oppressed would doubly understand others who have been."
- Speaking in Tongues
- In Speaking in Tongues, Tia comes from a small town and ultra-religious upbringing. It is clear that she is young and innocent at the start of the story. After her experiences with sexuality with Dezi and Marie in Atlanta (Dezi pressuring her to have sex and exerting physical dominance over her, and learning about Marie’s lifestyle), it becomes clear that she has lost a great deal of that innocence, specifically at a young age.
- "...and so he dragger her along the shag of the carpet and sheepskin until her face felt the cold linoleum of the kitchen floor and she saw the endless, reeling flowers of the kitchen wallpaper. She gargled on her own spit, felt blood trill down her nostrils. he slapped her, as though reviving the dead. Her teeth locked, biting nothing, and her screams dead-ended into low grunts" (p. 203).
- Geese
- In Geese, Dina moves to Japan to work. Being unable to find a suitable job, she ends up having to share a flat with multiple roommates, and they all find themselves in a state of destitution and starvation. At the end of the story, Dina is contemplating the Kamikaze pilots of World War 2. ™“She remembered how she’d marveled when she’d read it, amazed that anyone would do such a thing; how—in the all-knowing arrogance of youth– she’d been certain that given the same circumstances, she would have cone something different” (p. 233).
- In the story, Dina gradually becomes disillusioned with the people and the world around her. She is stuck in a foreign country with no money and an expired Visa. She originally wanted to go there for no practical reason, just for "the loveliness" (p. 211). After being there for a while without a job or money, Dina is forced to sell her body to a Japanese businessman in exchange for money to live. In the end, it is unclear what Dina will do about her situation, but she now has this knowledge of her own "kamikaze mission," and how her views of herself and the people around her have changed.
Current Example
Often times today, "loss of innocence" is thought of not as pertaining to a singular revelation, as ZZ Packer often portrays it, but as the transition from childhood to adulthood. This transition takes place regardless of gender, culture, or religion.
This second video is an interview done on "The Morning Show." The topic at hand is how child celebrities have been known to lose their innocence at an extremely young age. Dr. Patrick Wanis makes an appearance on the show to share his thoughts on the topic.
Possible Conclusions
ZZ Packer has stated that it is important to her that her characters have a voice, and go through some sort of change or transformation. Writing these characters in this way allows them to seem more authentic and "rounded." In her interview with Writers Digest, Packer talks about making stories universal, as "...all good stories are both particular and universal." By having her characters undergo these changes and realizations, they become more real and relatable to those readers who are also undergoing a change in the way they view the world. This collection, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, and the events that take place in the stories seem to call us as reader to think about what can lead to the loss of innocence, what it means to lose innocence, and where we can go on from that point. Many times the "solution" is not given, and the story is not wrapped up in a neat little bow. It is up to us as the readers to contemplate what might happen to the characters from that point on.
