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Thesis: Miss Brill is an exaggerated yet realistic character who reflects…
Thesis: Miss Brill is an exaggerated yet realistic character who reflects the idea that isolation and alienation may lead to the loss of ability to differentiate between imagination and reality.
Paragraph # 2: Miss Brill has a habit of viewing the world in a positive and playful way as she pretends and makes up stories about everyone in her mind. This is the result of prolonged isolation, and a fear of rejection causes her to glamorize the world into fitting her own fantasy. .
Miss Brill pays close attention to every interaction around her. She notices that there is a huge contrast between people who are playing in the field and those who are dully crowding in the stand.
People in the field are young, lively and energetic; people on the stand are lonely, old, and isolated.
She observes that those who are in the stands are rather identical as they were "odd, silent, and nearly all old"
The encounter of the gentleman and woman in ermine toque foreshadows the upcoming twist of the story: not everything in Miss Brill's perspective is as positive and optimistic as she depicts.
Miss Brill believes herself is a part of the "performance", and someone would notice if she is not there.
This shows that she is justifying her weekly ritual to herself, hoping to rationalize her own behavior and comfort the displeasure she encounters at school and volunteer work where she is not appreciated in real life. Her theory of everyone belongs to an important part of the performance shows that she wishes for deeper connection with other people.
Paragraph # 1: Her vivid conversation with the fur coat and consistent ritual visits to the garden reflect the intense loneliness and isolation Miss Brill has experienced.
Miss Brill takes the fur coat out from a box, dusting off the dirt, and rubbing it to give it a better appearance.
The details of taking the fur coat out from a box and "rubbing the life back into the dim little eyes" actually refer to Miss Brill herself. She has been living a solitary life for years, and she needs to mentally prepare herself everytime for the weekly visit to the park. Also, the trips to the park give her some excitement, thus, "rubbing" some life back into her dim life.
The author personifies the fur coat to demonstrate how lonely Miss Brill is. She has no human beings to interact with, therefore, talking to an inanimate object instead.
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Paragraph # 3: Despite being seemingly content with her "role" in the grand performance, Miss Brill's fantasy world comes to an end when she overhears the conversation of the young couple making fun of her.
The young couple mocks Miss Brill; calling her a "stupid old thing" wearing an ugly fur coat. It is until this moment that Miss Brill finally realizes she is not as special as she believes herself to be, and her existence is unwanted like any elderly in the park.
The young couple are beautiful and well-dressed; Miss Brill believes that they are the stereotypical romantic "heroes" of the play. She instantly views them as romantically engaged, despite the couple are obviously having an argument.Her anticipation of the couple's conversation may represent her inner desire of wanting to be loved and noticed.
A pair of young couple claim the seat where the old couple had been. This seems to represent the natural phenomenon of younger generation replacing the older.
Conclusion: Having a bitter taste of reality, Miss Brill immediately retreats back to her "comfort zone" where no one would judge or mock her. However, the relevation she learns in the park has changed her forever, as she now realizes that she is also part of the unwanted, rejected group.
The awakening of reality has shocked and depressed her, as she no longer anticipates her usual Sunday treat. Miss Brill's misconceptions of herself and the world have brought her the ultimate rejection.
The return of Miss Brill back to her "cupboard-like" room implies that she is once again isolated from the world.
When she quickly removes and put the fur coat away, she hears something crying. This suggests that Miss Brill no longer believes in her fantastic illusions, and shutting the fur coat away means that herself, like the fur coat, is also shut away in a lonely life by the society.