English (Core) · Ch 8 — Going Places
Summary of the Lesson
Summary of the Lesson
Sophie's dreams
The story opens with Sophie sharing her ambitions with her friend Jansie as they walk home. Sophie declares that one day she will own a smart boutique, imagining exactly how stylish and successful it will be. When Jansie points out that they have no money and that boutiques take a great deal of capital, Sophie brushes the objection aside and moves on to other glamorous futures — perhaps she will be an actress, and run a boutique on the side, or become a fashion designer. Jansie, who is sensible and clear-eyed, reminds her that the two of them are marked out for the biscuit factory, but Sophie will not let reality spoil her fantasies.
Home and family
At home the reality of Sophie's life is made plain. The house is small and shabby; her father, a large, tired man, is washing at the kitchen sink, and the atmosphere is cramped and ordinary. Sophie tells her family that she has met Danny Casey, the young Irish football prodigy who plays for the local United team. Her father reacts with weary disbelief, treating the claim as one more of her tall stories, while her young brother listens. The person Sophie most admires is her elder brother Geoff, who has left school and works as an apprentice mechanic. Geoff is quiet and reserved; he goes off on his motorcycle to places and to a life that Sophie knows nothing about, and she longs to be admitted into that unknown adult world he inhabits.
The football match and the growing fantasy
It is to Geoff that Sophie first confides her supposed meeting with Danny Casey, and although he is doubtful, he mentions it, and the family discusses it. Later they all go to watch a football match in which Danny Casey plays, and Sophie thrills to see her hero on the field. She has also told Jansie about the meeting, and worries that the story will spread and be exposed. To make the fantasy more real, Sophie invents further details: she claims she met Casey near the shops, that they talked, that he agreed to meet her again and even promised her an autograph.