How I Learned to Drive

Reading Paula Vogel’s play How I Learned to Drive was an interesting experience and at many times disturbing. Although, I did not enjoy the non-linear structure of Top Girls I enjoyed it in this play. It was somewhat startling to begin the play with Uncle Peck molesting Li’L Bit, but I enjoyed the piece meal memory flashbacks. It was interesting to piece together Li’L Bit’s relationship with Uncle Peck and throughout the majority of the play I was wondering if they were going to reveal the first time he molested her.

I found the relationship between Uncle Peck and Li’L Bit to be extremely confusing. After watching my fair share of Law and Order: SVU I have seen how many children who have been molested act towards their attacker or how it shapes the rest of their life. But I have never seen any story line where a victim has acted the way Li’L Bit has. She clearly was uncomfortable the first time Uncle Peck touched her in the car ride back from the beach, but then she welcomed the touching and inappropriate relationship until she left for college. She never understood how wrong it was until she went away to school. However, on multiple occasions she acknowledged that he was married and that perhaps it was mean to her Aunt, but she never felt it was wrong for any other reason. I also found this case of pedophilia to be out of the ordinary because other than the first time Uncle Peck molested Li’L Bit he never really forced himself upon her, and even in the scene they say good-bye he doesn’t try to have sex with her.