Family Society in the Novel

The recognition as a high-class person by wearing expensive stuff is very important for her life. She thinks that others will see her as a woman who has high standard of lifestyle. Thus, she never thinks about her future’s need such as a house, saving, and so on. Rebecca experiences it when her childhood friends ask her to get a better flat though she has lived in a good flat with her flat-mate. “Are you moving?” I say in surprise. Elly lives in the coolest flat in Camden, with two guys who are in a band and get her into loads of free gigs and stuff. I can’t think why she’d want to move. “Actually, I’m buying,” she says. “I’m looking around Streatham, Tooting … I just want to get on the first rung of that property ladder.” “Right,” I say feebly. “Good idea.” “You should do it yourself, you know, Becky,” she says. “You can’t hang around in a student flat forever. Real life has to begin sometime” She glances at one of her men in suits, and he gives a little laugh. It’s not a student flat, I think indignantly. And anyway, who defines “real life”? Who says “real life” is property ladders and hideous pearl earrings? “Shit-boring tedious life,” Kinsella, 2005: 130. Rebecca thinks that she has already had a good life, but it is different from what other see about her. After she met her old friend, she begins to think about her life. By answering feebly, she looks so jealous of her friend. Then, her characteristic as a self-justification person influences her to justify her life in reality which is much more different to her old friends who do not know about fashion at all. The moment of self-talk happens. She begins to blame others and thinks that she is right. Rebecca’s characteristic as a self-seeking person also makes her not think about others. She feels that her business is her own. No one can change or even touch it. The writer sees that Rebecca’s reaction to her old friends also reveals her characteristic as a CBD sufferer. She makes her own business become the most important activity. It also dominates her way of thinking that her own choice is the best for her. In terms of a CBD sufferer, it is called as Salience. The behavior that Rebecca’s has tends to dominate her feelings and behavior. Rebecca feels that her activity is important for her life rather than others’ who look like having more perfect live. She will not care about others. In the characteristics of CBD, this situation is called as Salience when the behavior in a person’s life becomes the most important and tends to dominate the way of thinking, feelings and behavior. The effect of society towards Rebecca is quite influential to support her characteristics as a CBD sufferer. She is very proud of herself as a woman who has high-standard of lifestyle. She never thinks that she has to talk about property or the other similar stuff. In her mind, everything that she has done is the best for her though she has to make some distance in order to keep away from Derek Smeath and Ericca who come from Endwich Bank. Having some problems with Bank never changes her mind to feel sorry about her problems. Since she knows about her debt from the Bank, she still thinks about an impossible possibility that can fix all the problems. Thus, the characteristic of Salience can also be seen here. Almost everything that she thinks as the “right” thing becomes important. It also can also be seen as a shopaholic who has a debt problem, it dominates her thought, feelings and behavior that she is still in the right path. And ever since I read that story, my secret fantasy has been that the same thing will happen to me. I mean, I know it sounds unlikely—but if it happened once, it can happen again, can’t it? Some dotty old woman in Cornwall will be sent my humongous bill and will pay it without even looking at it. And I’ll be sent her bill for three tins of cat food at fifty-nine