Ginny's lack of emotional attachment to the people in her life makes her seem cold and unfriendly. Do you consider her to be an unfriendly person? How do you think she might define the word "friend"?
Created: 12/27/17
Replies: 12
Join Date: 10/15/10
Posts: 3216
Ginny's lack of emotional attachment to the people in her life makes her seem cold and unfriendly. Do you consider her to be an unfriendly person? How do you think she might define the word "friend"?
Join Date: 02/29/16
Posts: 174
I think Ginny was preoccupied with the situation with Krystal and could not take time to spend on friends. But I do think she was friends with Larry. Friendship just wasn't the priority at the time. She was single-minded in her quest to return to her baby doll. She didn't have time for friends, but she showed her regret at stealing from people she liked, saying she preferred to steal from someone else. She understood Larry liked her, but knew she wouldn't be around so pursuing that made no sense. She cut him off. Her actions were the direct result of her goal to return to Krystal. It had nothing to do with how she felt about her friends. It had to do with her prioritizing Krystal above them all.
Join Date: 10/15/14
Posts: 347
I am not terrifically educated about autism, but it is my general understanding that autistic individuals are fairly single-minded - at least with regard to a present or pressing situation or moment. As Ginny is so terribly concerned about her baby doll, I think it is her primary and ongoing focus. This does not give her much time or opportunity to concentrate of other things - friends, for example. We see he feeling guilt, as Scribbling Scribe states so well above, about her stealing, but again, those actions, (stealing and guilt) are connected directly to her concerns for her baby doll. I don't feel she can focus elsewhere until that issue is resolved for her.
Join Date: 03/03/12
Posts: 221
Friendship requires a give and take relationship. It has been my experience with my son that he is unable to recognize that he needs to contribute something in order to have a friend. I have asked him if he is lonely, and his reply is "Sometimes." I think Ginny shows some of the same limitations. She sees people as a means to an end, rather than a source of comfort and intimacy.
Join Date: 12/01/16
Posts: 292
Join Date: 09/30/17
Posts: 59
I do not consider Ginny to be friendly because she seems incapable of putting another's needs ahead of her own, outside of caring for an infant. At best I think she has moments of joy she is able to share with others. Her enjoyment of the Special Olympics basketball team is the best example of her ability to enjoy something in a group situation.
Join Date: 01/22/18
Posts: 152
I don't think Ginny is friendly but I don't see that as a criticism given her condition. She doesn't have normal read and response mechanism - meaning reading what a person needs or wants and then responding to that need which is what friends do. In her very small world, she was "friendly" with her basketball group because they shared something. She might define friend as someone who gives her what she needs, who listens to what she is saying and responds in a way that makes sense to her - the person who understands she needs 9 grapes and gives them to her, she might say they are a friend.
Join Date: 04/20/17
Posts: 32
I think we need to keep in mind that Ginny is on the autism spectrum and that she is different from those of us who are not. This is difficult for some of us in that we see the world through our experiences and can’t imagine the world differently -just like Ginny does. Given my limited knowledge of children on the autism spectrum and of any child who has to step into an adult role way too soon, Ginny is not unfriendly, rather she is a very cautious child who has experienced too much at an early age and who also has the characteristics of an autistic child. I think she is a good, brave person who loves and cares for her baby sister without understanding the all of the nuances adults do. She is a brave girl.
Join Date: 07/02/15
Posts: 91
It seems that almost everyone is saying that Ginny is not friendly because autistic people do not “do” friendly. From what little I know, I would agree. If Patrice and Brian help Ginny even more than they already have (I have no idea how Maura is going to play in this), it might be possible for Ginny to understand what being a friend means. If she gets that far, she might even make a friend or two. She has compassion in some meaning of the word, or why else would she want to protect her Baby Doll and take care of Wendy?
Join Date: 06/25/13
Posts: 347
I do not think autistic Children and the same feeling about friends as we do. I believe they are capable of a two sided relationship. Also, though most of the book, she was consumed with finding her baby. She really was not interested in much else. I think she may develop a true friendship with the new baby
Join Date: 09/09/13
Posts: 164
Ginny came across as slightly withdrawn, somewhat socially awkward. I believe she grasps what friendship is and has demonstrated she has and can be a friend. Her obsessiveness with Krystal's wellbeing, not to mention Gloria were her main priorities, making sure her sister was safe trumped making friends
Join Date: 03/13/12
Posts: 523
Ginny's autism is a driving force in the plot of the book, and it is a major aspect of her character. Ginny is not UNfriendly; she has autism - and it's not a mild case. Autistic children often perceive being touched or having a person stand in close proximity as something undesirable, something from which to withdraw and avoid. I'm not sure that Ginny would even think about defining friend, although her actions to try and protect the baby indicate that she understands the need for protection from harm. She has a friendly, platonic relationship with the boy in her class (whose name escapes me at the moment.)
Join Date: 07/16/13
Posts: 117
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