How I learned to Drive
Child molesters are the scum of the earth. They are worse than murderers to me. What kind of sick person would want to molest an innocent child? When the word "molester" comes to my mind, I think of some nasty, trailer trash guy who just looks dirty and gross. I think that is what most people in our culture would think of when they hear that word. However, a lot of child molesters seem to be nice, ordinary people. In the play How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel portrays the child molester as someone who is easy to like. In Vogel's play, Uncle Peck seems to be somewhere in between an angel and a devil. The question is, however, why does Vogel put him at that point on the continuum between angels and devils? Uncle Peck lies in the middle of being a devil and an angel. Child molesters are the lowest of the low, but Peck seems to be a normal guy. He is a gentleman and is kind. He helps out his neighbors and is well liked by a lot of people. Deep down, I think he is a good person but he lets lust take him over. He doesn't have much self control. He teaches Lil' Bit a lot; not only how to drive, but how to assert herself in her family and in society. He wants to help her.
I think Vogel wanted to like Peck but at the same time she didn't want to, and that is why she made him to be the character he was. It helps people realize that child molesters can seem to be people we all get along with. Peck seems creepy and obsessive by counting down the days until her eighteenth birthday and sending her weird presents. He teaches Lil' Bit how to drive because he wants to help her get through life. It is a topic not openly discussed in our culture but is prevalent. It makes us feel uncomfortable for liking Peck in some scenes of the play, but yet we still think he is a bad guy. I will never touch you when you are driving a car. Vogel put him in between good and bad to make us think outside our normal trains of thought. a molester, he is her uncle and she looks up to him. By putting Peck somewhere in the middle, I think it makes Peck seem more human. The culture we live in today would say that this play is disturbing and immoral. She made it easier to take in that Peck is not a violent person. He would say things like 'I love you,' and 'you're so beautiful' to get her to give in to him.
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Acceptance Essays
