Wow, haven't posted here in quite a while! I'm taking a literature course in which we get to choose a short story to analyze and present. The short story must have an element of evil. My group has chosen "Freeway Games" (at my suggestion; gotta spread the OSC love!).
One member of the group got the impression that the last woman in the story, the woman in the red Audi who leads to the twist at the end, is actually Liz, his girlfriend that he was going to meet. She says at the end that she's late for a meeting in Salt Lake. My friend thought the two of them were a perfect match all along because of this sick game they both played without knowing it.
I thought it would be a really interesting interpretation, but I never read it that way. I'm wondering if this was the intent, and I missed it? Anyone else see that?
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
I'm not sure I've read the story in question before, so I can't be much help in that regard.
But, hello. Good to see you. Posted by Stone_Wolf_ (Member # 8299) on :
I'm drawing on dusty data banks, but it seems to me that you know what your kind of car your girlfriend/boyfriend drives, so they would have recognized each other at some point or other if that was the case.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
I thought so too, but they haven't seen each other in quite a while at that point.
Posted by ZachC (Member # 12709) on :
And it would make more sense once the character Liz is introduced, to actually have her take part in the story directly instead of just influencing Stanley through their past relationship.
Posted by Seatarsprayan (Member # 7634) on :
One thing I never understood about the story... [SPOILERS] at the end it turns out that the Audi driver is playing her own murderous game, and has killed before...
How does that work though? Are there THAT many guys like Stanley that will follow and torment someone in a car until they end up dying themselves?
I mean, Stanley is the chaser, the active one here, and she is the bait for him. How many people can she really kill if she is the passive partner in this "game"?
Posted by Stone_Wolf_ (Member # 8299) on :
Exactly! My thoughts were the very same when I read it the first time many years ago.
Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :
"Freeway Games" is one of the most disturbing stories I've ever read. It honestly haunts me alot when I'm driving home late at night.
I hadn't ever thought of the girl in the red Audi being Liz, but that is definitely an interesting interpretation. It makes the story spookier in one way, but less spooky in another way.
:-) I like mind twists.
Posted by odouls268 (Member # 2145) on :
quote:Originally posted by Seatarsprayan: One thing I never understood about the story... [SPOILERS] at the end it turns out that the Audi driver is playing her own murderous game, and has killed before...
How does that work though? Are there THAT many guys like Stanley that will follow and torment someone in a car until they end up dying themselves?
I mean, Stanley is the chaser, the active one here, and she is the bait for him. How many people can she really kill if she is the passive partner in this "game"?
[PSEUDO SPOILERS] I think that notion is part of what makes the story "horror;" is the contention that yes, there are really that many people out there that will torment someone to that level. Enough that she can depend upon them to appear out of the woodwork and start to harass her so she can get her naughty yum yum time in killing them.
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