Analysis Of 'The Girl In The Flammable Skirt'

Life entails many obstacles, journeys, and in the end death. How we live our lives determines our legacy. So what makes us different from anything else? We consist of the basic elements on Earth. We share common elements with plants and even the stardust that makes up the universe. Our bodies need essential minerals like salt to sustain life and maintain homeostasis. Without these delicate balances death becomes imminent. Salt along with other minerals produce and perpetuate all the electrical impulses in our bodies. These impulses control our thoughts, dreams, and provide movement. Without these impulses we could not live. In “The Girl in the Flammable Skirt”, Aimee Bender utilizes “salt” to develop a state of placid, encumbrance, and guilt that accompany life. The author opens the story with a young girl struggling to carry her father’s burden. A book bag made of stone that she cannot set down. Bender
Only when we abuse ourselves do we become shackled by life. When does life take us too far? Why do we disrupt the balance and begin to hurt ourselves and the ones we love? Aimee Bender states that the father has suffered a heart attack two years ago and then explains, “Bland is a state of mind” (89). He was forced to give up the salt of life due to overabundance. Bender uses a bleak theme to depict their home life. Bender continues this theme when the daughter asks Paul, “What do you think of the salt-free meatball” (90). In the literal sense, she refers to the flavorless ball of meat, but also describes the blandness of her life at home. Bender later describes her dwelling bleakly, “The reason it smells sober is because it is so sober” (90). Due to all these restrictions, she begins to feel bland and flavorless too. I believe that the daughter develops a sense of resentment towards her father at this point. Unfortunately, she begins to wither without having the spice of