Creative Response C

Dear Miranda,

I have a few questions to ask you after reading Miranda Over the Valley. I cannot imagine getting pregnant at a young age, unmarried; you are very brave to endure that, however I do have some questions. Why did you let your parents influence your decision to keep or not keep your unborn child? You chose to act the way you did and you knew the consequences of these actions; why did they have a say? Didn't you question the fact that they found the same quality in a vacation to Acapulco and a human life? It could have been the way Dubus wrote it, but it seemed to me that you were apathetic about the entire situation. I also questioned your judgement and knowledge when you were smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol knowing you were pregnant. Were you just not educated enough to know these were damaging to your child, or were you subconsciously hoping this child would not be born? Was there ever a point when you experienced regret about your decisions? There was one point in the story that Dubus mentioned, "she wanted to be a virgin again" (13); was this because of the unborn child or because of the actual act of sex?
What about Brian attracted you to him in that moment of weakness? You knew he was with Holly and earlier it was mentioned that you wished you were a virgin again. What compelled you to engage in that act? I know that everyone has moments of weakness but it seems to me that you just don't seem to have strong feelings about anything toward the end of this story. Why is that? I hope you feel as though you have made the right decisions and do not regret any of them. There is nothing you can do now to change the past--only move forward and create the future.

Sincerely,
Marcey Hoffman