Character analysis of Dobie and Polly in love is a Fallacy

This test is a piece of narrative writing, a story, a light and humorous satire.
The narrator of the story, Dobie Gills, a freshman in a law school, is the hero or
protagonist. He struggles two antagonists: Petey Burch, his roommate whose
girlfriend he plans to get, and Polly Espy, the girl he intends to marry after
suitable re-education. I will mainly focus on analyzing the characteristic of Dobie
and Polly.
First, Dobie is an intelligent and logical person. At the beginning of story,
Dobie firstly describes himself: “Cool was I and logical. Keen, calculating,
perspicacious, acute and astute---I was all of these. My brain was as powerful as a
dynamo, as precise as a chemist’s scales, as penetrating as a scalpel. And---think
of it! I am only eighteen”.
Second, he is self-conceited. Dobie thinks highly of himself as an
intelligent and smart person. However, the images of the other two characters are
described in a totally different direction ： Petey Burch---“faddist and nothing
upstairs”， Polly Espy --- “beautiful but not smarten enough”.
Third, he is ridiculous and self-contradictive. Dobie takes love as a
qualification for being a lawyer in the future. “The successful lawyers I have
observed are, almost without exception, marry to beautiful, gracious, intelligent
women. With one omission, Polly fits these specifications perfectly.” (p.21). He
emphasizes many times that his desire for Polly is not emotional in the nature.
But after teaching fallacies to Polly, he falls in love with this girl and determines
to tell her. “It must be thought that I am without love with this girl. Quiet the
contrary” (p.122). Dobie has a ridiculous view of love and denies his own
description of himself, which makes him a self-contradictive person.
Forth, Dobie is an emotional person and not that reasonable and cool as he
thinks. After spending one night teaching Polly fallacy, he wants to discard the
intention to enlighten that stupid girl. Though he abandons that idea after
reconsideration, he reveals his disgusted emotions in the conversations with
Polly. Originally, Dobie “hides his exasperation” (p.74) but gradually he loses
control on his emotions. At last he is frowned by the teaching process.
Comparing with Dobie’s intelligence, Polly seems to be dumber and less
logical. But at last, Polly appears an image of clever and wit. Firstly, Polly is a
beautiful girl. She was not yet of pin-up proportions, but I felt sure that time
would supply the lack. She already had the makings. And she is gracious. She had
an erectness of carriage, an ease of bearing, a poise that clearly indicated the best
of breeding.
Second, she is simple and easily-satisfied. I took her first to dinner. “Gee,
that was a delish dinner,” she said as we left the restaurant. Then I took her to a
movie. “Gee, that was a marvy movie,” she said as we left the theater. And then I
took her home. “Gee, I had a sensaysh time,” she said as she bade me good night.
(p.60)
Third, she is submissive and a little foolish. Every time Dobie teaches her
fallacies, her reaction is echoing. It seems that she doesn’t have her own idea,
which annoys Dobie so much. For example, “I know somebody like that”, she
exclaimed. “A girl back home—Eula Becker, her name is. It never fails. Every
single time we take her on a picnic---” (p.81) from this sentence, we know that
Polly lacks of the ability to think independently.
Finally, Polly gives us a great shock, she uses all the logic stuff to refuse
Dobie and she agrees to go steady with Petey. It seems that she is wise at last.
Actually Polly’s progresses on the Fallacies prove that she is an intelligent girl.

高春娟
123070027
12 英语专升本