Isaac Fox: St. Lucy’s Essay Karen Russell’s short story St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves shows the trials and tribulations of wolf girls at a school in an attempt to assimilate to human culture. I believe that Claudette has not successfully adapted to her new environment. This is because of the overwhelming amount of mistakes compared to her successes. This is made very clear in the beginning of the girls’ time at St. Lucy’s where Claudette is rowdy and unkempt. Later on, Claudette says that her new clothes are disorienting, this shows how even the simple earlier stages of assimilation are difficult for her. Furthermore, when she was forced to play a game with the purebred girls she growled and snarled, this was because she was uncomfortable …show more content…
For starters, “I narrowed my eyes at Kyle and flattened my ears, something I hadn’t done for months. Kyle looked panicked” (Russell 243). This example shows that Claudette cannot help but to be aggressive toward others when she is panicked. Furthermore, she does not understand how to interact with others, proving that her time at St. Lucy’s has failed to eradicate her lycanthropic tendencies. Another jarring example is when Claudette explains that, “All of a sudden the only thing my body could remember how to do was pump and pump. In a flash of white-hot light, my months at St. Lucy’s had vanished” (Russell 243). This is undeniable evidence that, although Claudette attended St. Lucy’s, the things she has learned have not been retained in her memory. Also, that she cannot take being the center of attention in a new, high stress situation around further advanced wolves. Another indisputable piece of evidence is when she returns home, and states, “We crunched through the fall leaves in silence, and every step made me sadder” (Russell 246). This shows how even though she has the opportunity to return home while she is still at St. Lucy’s it still makes her upset. Also, that she cannot take a situation of being back in the woods or around other non-assimilated wolves without having these feelings, showing that she still wants to be