Bender goes "Off" on creepy girl

            “Off” is about the pathological self-centeredness of a woman at a party. Bender narrates the story from a first person point of view, putting us in the bizarre mind of this young woman, who, exteriorly, stands as a kind of stereotype of the beautiful, overdressed girl at the party who drinks a little and does crazy things. This is a story about the appearance of a situation versus its reality, but unlike the mainstream story that deals with misunderstood people, this one leaves us with a disturbing reality of the interior workings of this woman’s mind.

            The first person point of view is critical to achieve the impact the story does; Bender orchestrates this to perfection. Through the language and ideas of the narrator, the reader determines from the first paragraph that our protagonist is a cold, heartless person. Her lustful descriptions that seem to jump around without bound show us that, internally, she is like a sensual beast that doesn’t possess any kind of moral compass. The blond ex-boyfriend Adam connects the reader from the interior reality of the protagonist to her exterior perception from a person who “knows” her intimately. We feel sorry for Adam by the end of the story. Bender uses his character to thoroughly haunt the reader, because Adam, the person closest to the protagonist, seems to be the one person who gives her a chance. We can see through her narration that she is unappreciative of his efforts.

            Although I think the story accomplishes everything it needs to, and the way it ends is completely appropriate, I’m curious to know whether the protagonist changes after the text ends, after Adam takes her hand. I don’t think it is outside the realm of possibility to expect a softening of the heart of the protagonist. There are a few hints in the text that this might be possible: the bathroom scene, where she seems for a moment to be turned on by Adam not just lustfully but also by the memories of their relationship; and her description when the partiers ignore her in the bedroom, and she says, “I felt truly cold.” I took this as recognition by the protagonist that she was a depraved person, which is the first thing necessary for her to change.