Melanie's Role In The Miscommunication By Lurie

Melanie’s role in the story is simply plot progression in the form of abuse. Although Lurie constantly uses language which implicates otherwise, he has raped and harassed this girl in an attempt to fill a void within himself. Melanie is trapped in a situation where she is subjected to the perversion of somebody who she once respected and has no idea how to react or what to do about it. There is constant evidence to show that she is uncomfortable and wishes nothing more than for everything to go back to how it was before their initial meeting, although too passive to do anything about it, but Lurie does not seem to care at all although he notices several times. She might be the single most important character in the story if only because she is the tip of
He objectifies females and is not afraid to do it right to their faces. One of the more obvious quotes that exemplify this is “Why? Because a woman’s beauty does not belong to her alone. It is part of the bounty she brings into the world. She has a duty to share it.” Melanie is not stupid, she is put off by being told she does not own herself. It is stated that at this moment her smile loses its playfulness but Lurie does not stop and continues to sexualize her without any real reason.

It doesn’t stop there, unfortunately, the interactions with Melanie also put into perspective the fact that Lurie is not afraid to invade privacy, has an inability to connect to women, has resorted to rape, and simultaneously treats a woman like a child while still sexualizing her. Going through her school records to find where Melanie lives, forced himself on her when she obviously did not want to be part of it, and compares her body to a 12 year old’s, yet is still aroused by it. Not to mention he calls himself her daddy, and has sex with her in his daughter’s bed. Is this not pedophilic behavior? I believe