Out of the Easy

“‘Decisions, they shape our destiny.’ Without opening the book, he began to recite from David Copperfield. ‘Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else…’ I nodded and finished it with him. ‘These pages must show.’”

David Copperfield is a motif representing the idea that we can create our own destiny. Josie’s sense of connection to Hearne is established in this interaction, as he cites his knowledge of the novel aloud. Hearne’s comment that he is self-made like Copperfield inspires Josie to be the hero of her own life and find a way out of New Orleans.

“So the game continued, and for years I added names to the list, imagining that 50 percent of me was somehow respectable instead of rotten.”

Josie feels that because her mom is “rotten,” she must have a father who is “respectable.” In the game of adding fathers to her list, she rejects her mother and sets herself apart from her one present parent. In shaping her father’s mystery identity, she crafts him into whoever she needs him to be. She thinks that her lineage is partially responsible for who she will become, so she needs her father to be someone good. Because of this, she keeps a list of men she would be proud to have as her father.

“Besides humming, reading was the only thing that blocked out Mother, the Quarter, and allowed me to experience life outside New Orleans. I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own.”

Reading is a motif in the novel supporting the theme that we make our own life. Josie uses books to escape, but she also uses them to dream about her future. She escapes life outside New Orleans in books and reinforces her determination to leave the city.

“‘Let me tell you something ’bout those rich Uptown folk,’ said Cokie. ‘They got everything that money can buy, their bank accounts are fat, but they ain’t happy. They ain’t ever gone be happy. You know why? They soul broke. And money can’t fix that, no sir.’”

Cokie tells Josie this after the uncomfortable party at the Lockwell house. He thinks that money does not buy happiness and that rich people are all corrupted by their money. Josie thinks that her mom is also “soul broke” despite not being rich, demonstrating her belief that money buys the happiness depicted in the framed photos she sees.

“The Uptown women were wary of the Quarter and everything associated with it. They thought the Quarter was responsible for all corruption. They wanted to believe their husbands were virtuous men of society–good men, like Forrest Hearne–and that the Quarter sucked them in against their will, grabbing them by the ankles and pulling them under.”

The rich women of Uptown act like their husbands are good men and the people in the Quarter are degenerates who are responsible for making their husbands commit unsavory behavior. Josie knows that this is not true; the men go there by choice and the wives are lying to themselves. Josie’s observation demonstrates her worldly knowledge gained through her background and understanding of gender expectations.

“Willie said people were making fun of me. Were they? I had to get out of New Orleans. I had to get into Smith.”

Josie is embarrassed that the Uptown people are making fun of her, knowing that she did not fit in at the party. This marks a turning point in the novel. Now, not only is she determined to leave New Orleans, but she is also determined to go to Smith. Josie believes that getting into Smith will be the answer to her problems, that she will finally be accepted by those of higher social standing.

“There wasn’t shame on my parents. The shame was all on me.”

Josie feels like she has inherited her mom’s bad reputation. Even though Josie is smart and does not get into any trouble, she is still viewed as an unsavory person because of her mother. She feels ashamed of her life and herself. Her mother, on the other hand, is not ashamed of her behavior and leaves Josie to deal with others’ judgment.

“I hated New Orleans. No, New Orleans hated me.”

New Orleans “hates” Josie because despite being a big city, it is rife with small-town gossip. People always talk about Josie behind her back and report what she does to Willie. Josie knows how fast word travels between people and believes that she will not be able to keep Charlotte from finding out the truth about her true background and disreputable mother.

“You’re salted peanuts, and those people out East are petits fours. Don’t be cliché, thinking you’re going to be Orphan Annie, who winds up in some kind of castle. You’re salted peanuts, Jo, and there’s nothing wrong with salted peanuts. But salted peanuts aren’t served with petits fours.”

Willie compares Josie to salted peanuts, which represent her humble background. Petits fours are a fancier, classier treat. Willie’s analogy communicates that Josie does not belong with the upper class the same way salted peanuts do not belong on a table with petits fours. This comparison highlights Willie’s practical and realistic outlook on life, as well as her tendency to encourage survival instead of aspiration in Josie.

“I barely knew him, yet something in me clung to the watch, and I wanted desperately to keep it. But I couldn’t.”

Even though Josie knows she needs to get rid of Hearne’s watch or risk getting into legal trouble, she wants to keep it. Hearne’s watch represents how Josie clings to her idealized image of the father she never knew and her hope that she is not like her mother. Unable to dispose of the watch, Josie recognizes the irrational behavior but is not ready to part with the sense of hope it provides for her and her future.

“I was a liar. I’m sorry, Miss Paulsen. A Passage to India is currently under restoration. No, Patrick, I don’t know who Mother was with near the Roosevelt Hotel. Yes, Jesse, I’m going to meet Patrick tonight. No, Willie, I didn’t know Mother had left for California. No, Detective Langley, I didn’t find Forrest Hearne’s watch under my mother’s bed, a bed in a brothel with a bullet hole in the headboard. It went on. Each lie I told required another to thicken the paste over the previous.”

As Josie lies to protect those she cares about, she sinks deeper into self-hatred, identifying the lies with the indecent side of her background. She sees her mother in herself as she must maintain lie after lie to ensure her own self-preservation. Repulsed by this practice but unable to stop the lies, Josie’s internal monologue builds a tone of hopelessness within the narrative.

“Now, don’t let fear keep you in New Orleans. Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin’ we’re goin’ one place and we end up another. But that’s okay. The important thing is to start.”

On Josie’s birthday, Cokie tells her to keep fighting for what she wants, even if it is scary. Cokie’s encouragement highlights his fatherly role in Josie’s life as he singularly champions her dreams to attend Smith. This also foreshadows Josie’s rejection from Smith and her decision to move to Massachusetts anyway.

“Staring at the lilies, I felt a mix of happiness and apprehension. Unless it was Cokie, gifts from men weren’t free.”

Although Josie likes Jesse, his interest in her intimidates her. She is happy that he gave her flowers for her birthday but is concerned that he will expect things like sex from her. Her concern reflects her worldview, which was shaped by exposure to Willie’s brothel and her mother’s various relationships.

“I looked down at my feet. Pretty shoes for a letter. Sex for a string of pearls. Was there a difference?”

As Josie considers buying heels to wear for Mr. Lockwell in exchange for her recommendation letter, she confronts her behavior. She likens her purchase of heels to secure the blackmailed letter or recommendation from Lockwell to prostitution. She understands the transaction behind both and does not see much of a difference, expounding on her sense of self-hatred and the tone of helplessness as she attempts to find some way out of the Quarter.

“It was nice not talking. Somehow Jesse and I could have a conversation without saying a word.”

Josie has grown increasingly comfortable around Jesse, largely because he does not force her to talk about her life. The silence between them is intimate and they communicate through it, so the more time Josie spends with him, the closer she feels to him. This dynamic contrasts with most Josie’s other relationships, in which she feels compelled to explain herself.

“The lie came out so easily it frightened me. I used to feel sick to my stomach when I heard Mother tell a lie. How can you do it? How do you live with yourself? I used to wonder. But here I was, lying to Miss Paulsen and smiling while doing it.”

Josie feels that she has changed negatively because she now excels at lying. Her mother frequently lies, and Josie is scared that she is turning into her mother, terrified to become anything like her. Ironically, Josie’s lie is to protect Charlie’s reputation and has good intentions, while her mother’s lies are consistently for ill-gotten gains.

“I smiled. Patrick didn’t scare me. It made sense.”

After Patrick kisses Josie, she realizes that she wants to be in a relationship with him. She has known Patrick for many years, and he does not feel predatory like many other men she encounters. Josie feels like they make sense, as the relationship experiences this pivotal change, and she clings to any sense of normalcy, convincing herself that she can be with him.

“‘You okay?’ he called out. ‘Faster,’ I yelled back. He responded, throwing the bike into gear and taking off, flying down the road like a bullet from a barrel. I had no choice but to hold on. I was terrified. And I loved it.”

Jesse takes Josie on his motorcycle, and she loves the thrill and danger of it. On his motorcycle, she feels free and let go of her worries. This marks a turning point in her relationship with Jesse because she realizes that she can feel on “the edge of recklessness” and “safe” (231) at the same time with Jesse. She begins to trust him more and embrace the excitement he brings her.

“I thought of the silver frames in Lockwell’s home and office. They displayed his history for everyone to see. Willie had hers hidden in the back of a drawer. My history and dreams were on a list in my desk and, now, buried in the back garden.”

Josie finds pictures from Willie’s childhood and compares these hidden pictures and Lockwell’s framed photos. Willie does not want to show others her past or her family, while Lockwell uses his as bragging points. Josie senses the class differences in these two methods of storing family photos, highly sensitive to the fact that unlike Lockwell or Willie, she has no photos whatsoever. The images contribute to Josie’s feelings of inadequacy and restlessness.

“Patrick wanted someone else. I wanted him to be happy, but why couldn’t he be happy with me? I knew the answer. He couldn’t choose me. Patrick wanted a literary life of travel, learning, and social substance. I was a scrappy girl from the Quarter, trying to make good. No matter how I parted my hair, I couldn’t part from the crack I had crawled out of.”

Josie believes that Patrick rejects her because she is not good enough for him. She does not realize at this point that it is because he is in love with his friend James. She misinterprets his meaning that he cannot “choose” her. He cannot choose her because he is gay, but she thinks it is because he cannot allow himself to settle for her. She doubts her ability to be worthy of someone like Patrick, reflecting her sense of self-worth.

“I wanted to be Massachusetts. I still wanted to believe it was possible, that my wings, no matter how thin and torn, could still somehow carry me away from a life of lies and perverted men. I wanted to use my mind for study and research instead of trickery and street hustle.”

Josie yearns to step outside her life and identity in New Orleans, and her reflections illustrate how she thinks about herself and her dreams. Her wings, thin and torn, symbolize her tattered ambitions and the discouragement she feels about being admitted to Smith. The life of lies and perverted men represents her mother’s background—which she is desperate to flee. Josie’s hope to use her mind for study demonstrates her desire to attain education to improve her circumstances.

“What the hell was I doing? Decisions, whispered the voice of Forrest Hearne, they shape our destiny. Yes, Forrest Hearne’s decisions had led to his destiny. Death.”

Under threat from Marcello and unsure how to give him the money from her inherited debt, Josie considers stealing money from Willie. She thinks about how Hearne’s decisions led to his death and is worried that her own decisions will lead to her death. Faced with the choice to act dishonestly, Josie feels trapped and as though she may experience a kind of death as she continues along her current path, whether it be literal or figurative.

“The letter confirmed what I knew in my heart all along. They didn’t want me. I was good enough to clean their bathrooms and dust their books, but not to join them in public.”

When Josie gets rejected from Smith, she feels like all her hopes and dreams have been crushed. She has pinned all hope at a new life on getting accepted to Smith, so their rejection makes her conclude that she will never be able to live a respectable life. The offer inside the letter to work in a professor’s home adds insult to injury, confirming her station as unworthy of elevation past her current life as a brothel maid.