Vanity Analytical Essay

Vanity

 Does the pursuit of happiness involve money and a fit body? Young people can be blinded by the fact that they are young and beautiful and they do not see the future as extremely important. In the short story "Vanity", from 2015, written by Charles Baxter, a man is caught off his own vanity. The short story has focused on how vanity can have consequences in life.

On an airplane we meet the main characters Harry Albert and David Lowie. At first, we do not know the names of the main characters, they are just described as the people who are sitting at seat 32-B and 32-A. First, we meet Harry, his outer is described by the narrator as “Harry Albert, who, by contrast, dressed rather elegantly and could still turn heads for his handsomeness…” (p. 1 ll. 7-8) David also points out that he looks handsome “With your looks, a handsome English prince like yourself, they never leave you down there” (p. 2 ll. 78-79) Harry is handsome, and he is also aware of knowing that he is a good looking guy, but he has not only been lucky with his good looks, he has trained to achieve his appearance. He knows that his appearance will give him benefits in life. On the airplane Harry wants attention from the man who is sitting next to him, but the man at 32-A does not seem interested in Harry, but when he discovers that he is reading “Schindler’s List”, he starts talking to Harry and says “I was a Schindler Jew” (p. 1 l. 30)

Then Harry and David got introduced to each other.  Their conversation started and they talked about a Hollywood film David should have participated in. During this conversation, Harry seems like an understanding and likeable person. That is not what David thinks he is like. The two men start talking about the showgirls in Las Vegas and they are clearly dissident with their view of the showgirls and the nightlife of Las Vegas. David explains that the reason why he is visiting Las Vegas is because of the suspense in the city and the beautiful shows. He really does like the nightlife. The fact that he loves all those things shows us that David enjoys having fun, even though he has had a tough past, being a part of the Jews during the Holocaust. He loves to spend time with his wife and just enjoys life without wondering about his past and all the material things. After the conversation, David says to Harry "I know people like you. And let me say, I am open-minded. Every hedgehog has a low for itself, hedgehog law." (p. 3 ll. 119-120) David has become quite vehement and he recommends Harry to write an email, where he should write about his time in Las Vegas.

David’s comparison to the hedgehog is very interesting and it is not the only time we see the comparison to an animal. By comparing a real person to an animal, we get pictures in our heads of those animals and that makes the characterization of Harry special. It makes us think that Harry is a hedgehog. A hedgehog is associated with a small animal, who is able to survive in a big world with dangerous people. It is possible for the hedgehog to enjoy life, even though its surroundings are dangerous. The hedgehog symbolizes the way Harry's life could be, a life without caring about his appearance and where he could just enjoy life and not think about the influence of his surroundings.