Student Question

What does Judy's behavior on the golf course suggest about her character in "Winter Dreams"?

Quick answer:

Judy's behavior on the golf course in "Winter Dreams" reveals her as arrogant, thoughtless, and self-absorbed. Her sudden and careless actions, such as hitting Dexter's companion with a golf ball and referring to him dismissively as "something," highlight her lack of empathy and manners. Despite her rudeness, her poise and confidence make her attractive to characters like Dexter Fletcher, underscoring her complex, alluring persona.

Expert Answers

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It is clear that in the second section of this great short story when we meet the grown-up version of the impatient and over-confident girl that we met at the beginning of the story that Judy Jones has only grown into the kind of arrogant and thoughtless individual that it is hinted she would grown into at the start. Her re-appearance in the tale is sudden and brash. Whilst Dexter is playing golf with some other male companions, Judy Jones pushes in to where they are playing by thoughtlessly playing her shot, which hits one of Dexter's companions painfully in the abdomen. She shows little regret when she realises what she did, only stopping to ask if the ball bounced into the rough. When her golfing partner comes onto the scene she shows her malicious nature by saying to her:

"Here I am! I'd have gone on the green except that I hit something."

Referring to Mr. Hedrick as "something" makes her self-absorbed, arrogant, selfish and rude nature perfectly clear. She has not improved in manners over the time that has elapsed, but of course, it is precisely this poise and innate self-confidence that makes her attractive to people such as Dexter Fletcher.

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