The Significance of the Title

The phrase "going places" is an everyday expression meaning to succeed, to rise in the world, to move up from one's present situation towards a bigger and brighter future. The title captures precisely what Sophie longs for. She cannot accept the narrow life mapped out for her — school, then the biscuit factory, then the same limited existence as everyone around her — and she dreams instead of a life full of glamour, success and excitement. In her imagination she is always "going places": running a fashionable boutique, becoming an actress, mixing with a famous footballer. The title names this yearning to escape ordinariness and to become someone who matters. …