In Mona Simpson's "Lawns," the narrator begins by telling us: "I steal. I've stolen books and money and even letters. Letters are great. I can't tell you the feeling walking down the street with 20 dollars in my purse, stolen earrings in my pocket" (445). From this opening we learn of the character's infatuation with theft but also as important we learn the gender of the narrator. This is done inconspicuously, by referring to the purse and the desire for stolen earrings. Later, in the story we find out that the name of the main character is Jenny. What causes Jenny to want to steal others" personal items? Jenny acts like this because she is very jealous of her peers and of their families that send letters and gifts. She is also very jealous of her peers and feels like she is not getting the same treatment that her friends are getting. Why does she feel cheated and jealous of her friends? Jenny behaves like this because she is unhappy and feels empty on the inside. She is jealous of everything her peers do and the relationship with their family. She has also been sexually abused by her father ever since she was a kid. She has kept this a secret for quite awhile. Why would she keep the sexual abuse a secret for so long? She scared that she's abnormal. Simpson illustrates that Jenny wants to have normalcy in her life. She perceives her peers as having normal lives. .
Jenny has an addiction for stealing others" personal items, mail, etc. In the second paragraph, we find out more about Jenny: "I work in the mailroom of my dormitory, Saturday mornings." (445). We learn about what she does, we also learn that she is living in a dorm, which means she is probably in college. We know that Jenny is a college-age girl, and that she is obsessed with stealing. As we get into the story we find out why she behaves the way she does. "He waited till I was twelve to really do it. I don't know if you can call it rape, I was a good sport" (460).