Florida | Themes

Florida Themes

Florida and the Happy Life

When he was still alive, Alice's father used to talk to Alice and Mother about moving to Florida. Florida, as described by Father, is a sunny, warm place with an abundance of sweet fruits. Before Father is able to take his family to Florida, he dies mysteriously.

After Father's death, Alice and Mother still imagine a life in Florida, but over time, Florida becomes increasingly a fictional place. Florida is more of a utopia to which Alice and Mother can escape from their difficult life. Florida is a place where both solace and happiness is found.

Identity Alice shares a name with her mother. After her mother is sent to the mental asylum, Alice is left to live with various relatives including her Uncle Billy and Aunt Frances and her Nonna. As Alice drifts from one household to the next, Alice grows and develops as a child and adolescent. During these formative years, Alice's identity is shaped by the people who care for her, but Alice is always haunted by her namesake with whom she has an ambivalent relationship at best. At times, Alice admits that she misses her mother dearly, but at other times, Alice vows that she will never become like her mother.

Ultimately, when Alice becomes a grown woman living in New York, she is able to find herself. Although her relationships with some men remind her of some of her mother's relationships with men, she has not become the unstable and reckless woman that her mother was. She has a good job teaching English. She...
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