It was not quite the disaster that Polly imagined, even though Claire, who has never believed that dishwashers do as good a job ass she can, managed to
wash the dishes by hand every time Polly turned her back and Al has sworn to return and fix the broken porch step. Al played endless rounds of Monopoly with
Charlie and lost every game, and on Sunday he drove Amanda and Jessie to the theater at the mall and took them to see a movie their parents had forbidden them
to see :pp.121-122.
Polly also starts to forgive her parents. She does not put a wall between them anymore. Suddenly Polly realizes that she needs her parents to accompany her. Polly
does not want to be alone. When Al and Claire want to go home, Polly asks them to stay a little bit longer although it makes them trapped in traffic if they go home later.
On Monday evening, when her parents were getting ready to leave, Polly felt that she was being abandoned. She insisted that her parents stay for dinner, even
though this meant they would hit the worst of the Labor Day traffic returning to New York :p.122.
Al and Claire know that her daughter gives signs that she starts to forgive them. Realizing Polly’s responds, Al and Claire use the opportunity to come to the house
every weekend. It’s a Saturday, so when Polly hears someone at the door, she assumes
it’s her parents, earlier than expected. She gave them an inch and now they’re up every weekend. She has the feeling they start to watch the clock on Friday
nights, so they’ll be ready to jump into Al’s car at dawn on Saturday :p.143.
The relationship between Polly and her mother is getting better. She feels glad if her mother comes to the house. She feels glad with the presence of her mother not
because she can talk in personal with Claire but it is more to the feeling that she has someone who really cares about her condition. Deep down in her heart Polly wants to
have a closer relationship with her mother. And when Amanda finally is able to return to school, Claire stays on, and
the oddest thing of all is that sometimes Polly is glad that her mother’s there. Not that she wants to talk to Claire. She’s uncomfortable when they’re together, she
doesn’t know what to say. But when she smells the leek and cabbage soup her mother’s cooking, Polly feels like crying. She wants to be in the kitchen with her
mother; after all these years, she wants to be close to her :p.217.
4.2.4 Introgert
Polly turns into an introvert person. She begins to keep her own feeling. Before Amanda living with AIDS they have a good and nice relationship. In the beginning of
the new condition :when they know about the illness for the first time they still support each other. The illness makes their relationship is getting cold. Every time Ivan wants to
give his support and affection, Polly rejects it. By using the direct comment :Murphy 1972: 170, the author describes the situation.
She leans toward Ivan, she’s missed him. Falling together through space, they reach for each other, and hold hands, and they don’t let go until they get to
the lobby :p.71.
When Polly meets Betsy Stafford, she gets angry because Betsy does not permit Sevrin, his son, to play with Charlie anymore. Ivan wants to make her calm down by
holding Polly’s hand but Polly rejects it. “That absolute bitch,” Polly says of Betsy Stafford.
Ivan reaches to take Polly’s hand, but she moves away as if she’d been burned. Ivan cannot bear his loneliness, and he knows Polly cannot bear hers much
longer :p.103.
Ivan offers to Polly to talk with him about what her feeling but Polly does not want to. Polly does not want to turn to Ivan because she does not want to see how hurt
Ivan is. “Talk to me,” he says to Polly when she starts to cry.
“There’s nothing to say,” Polly tells him. She drinks her coffee, thought it is cold. She can’t turn to Ivan because if she did
she would have to see how hurt he is :p.103.
Polly and Ivan have to attend the parent’s meeting to discuss about Amanda. The parents of the children in Cheshire School do not want Amanda to study in the school
anymore. Polly feels shock because of the fact. Knowing what does happen; Ivan tries to hold Polly’s hand. But Polly does not give any respond at all.
Under the table, Ivan takes Polly’s hand. Polly doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t close her fingers around his :p.108.
Because of the pressure from the parents, Polly breaks down. She goes out from the room. She goes out without looking to Ivan.
That’s when Polly pushes her chair away from the table and gets up. Ivan turns to her, concerned, but Polly walks out of the room without looking at him
:p. 109.
On Saturday, Ivan takes the family to have dinner in Gloucester. Polly gets dressed and puts make up on her face. But right before they go, Polly does not want to
go. She tells them that she has a headache. Ivan persuades her to go, but still Polly does not want to.
It’s Saturday, and Ivan plans to take them all out to breakfast. […] Polly gets dressed, she even puts on some blush, but once the kids
are out in the car she tells Ivan she has a headache. She can’t go. “Don’t stay here alone,” Ivan says at the door.
“I’ll be fine,” Polly tells him. “I’ll do the laundry.” “Polly, come with us,” Ivan says. He’s begging her for something, and she
doesn’t have anything to give him. “Oh, for God’s sake” Polly says. “Will you just go” :p.113
Ivan realizes that Polly does not want to share with him anymore. Ivan feels alone. It makes him wants to speak to someone. He wants to share his feeling because
he cannot share it with Polly. He wants to telephone a hotline and speak to a stranger because there is
no one he can talk to in this house anymore, there aren’t even words to use :p.141.
Ivan wants to go to Boston to see his friend, Brian. Ivan asks Polly to go with him. Polly does not want to go with him. Ivan knows that they relationships is getting
far and far away. “I’m going into Boston tomorrow,” Ivan says. “A friend of mine is dying.”
Polly sits up in bed and watches him as he finishes undressing. He looks breakable to her; he’s all bones. “Is it someone I know?” Polly asks.
“No,” Ivan says. “But he has AIDS. Do you want to come with me?” Polly stops looking at Ivan; she reaches for the clock on the night table and sets
the alarm. Ivan takes off his shoes and socks last. He sits heavily on the bed; he can feel Polly turning away from him.
“I’m too tired to go anywhere,” Polly says :p.167.
In conclusion, it can be seen that Polly Farrell has a dynamic character :Holman and Harmon 1986:83, because her character changes from the beginning of the story
until the end of the story. The changes occur both slowly and rapidly.
