The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

Compare this New Year’s Eve to previous ones. How and why is it different? In what ways are the characters trying to make the best of things? What does this scene tell us about the themes of tradition and change?

The New Year’s Eve of the seventeenth summer appears to be quite different to past years. Firstly, instead of going out for New Year’s Eve to the ….  Roo, Barney, Olive and Pearl are at home playing cards. This is quite unsual, because in past years the foursome usually go out for New Year’s Eve and spend it with other friends, counting in the New Year. However, because Nancy has ‘left the group’ – having gotten married – the foursome are no longer able to go to the …. For New Year’s Eve. This change in company has altered the atmosphere of the group as the seventeenth summer is not the same as years of the past. Furthermore, Roo has been working all day and is quite tired, and is therefore not up to going out for the evening. However, the most significant difference to past years is the difference in age. The foursome are older than they were in previous summers, and as a result, they are not the some young couples that go out all evening. Thus, there age also hinders them from continuing the New Year’s Eve tradition of the past sixteen years.

This scene presents the audience with the idea that they do not like the change in tradition. The characters do not want to believe that things have changed and they are no longer the same people they were many years ago. They are almost in denial, blaming the change in tradition to the fact that Nancy is no longer present and thus their invitation for a New Year’s Eve party is no longer available, instead of realizing that they are older and different and not up to a typical New Year’s Eve of the past sixteen summers.