Initiation

Tracy is Millicent’s friend and provides the emotional support that Millicent requires to survive her initiation despite being “wistful” about the situation, which she fears will distance Millicent from her. Nevertheless, Tracy never expresses the envy or scorn the initiates commonly encounter from non-sorority members. Tracy even understands the complex social expectations Millicent faces during hazing, advising her to “just keep a poker face outside, […] but keep laughing like mad inside” (245); she knows that Millicent must appear to take the process seriously in order to achieve acceptance but also urges her to view it lightheartedly to avoid being overcome by stress.

That Tracy recognizes the hazing rituals as both absurd and intended to humiliate hints at the reason why she did not receive an invitation. Millicent finds out that the sorority voted against admitting Tracy because of fashion choices that make her “too different” from the other girls—practical choices like wearing knee socks when it’s cold and carrying a book bag to transport her textbooks to and from school. These choices demonstrate that Tracy is the kind of person who makes decisions based on her own reasoning rather than on societal pressure to behave in a certain way. This helps Millicent come to understand the importance of retaining one’s individuality even while pursuing acceptance.

The “little man” whom Millicent encounters on the bus catalyzes the main turning point in both her character arc and the broader narrative. The story describes him as “small and jolly, with a ruddy, wrinkled face that spread into a beaming smile as Millicent approached. In his brown suit with the forest-green tie he looked something like a gnome or a cheerful leprechaun” (246). This whimsical description sets him up as a sage character from whom Millicent will receive vital information. He is the last of the passengers whom Millicent questions about their breakfasts, and he responds by reporting that he eats “heather bird’s eyebrows on toast” as though it’s perfectly mundane (246). He goes on to explain that these birds lead lives of freedom and frivolity on “mythological moors.” The man’s sense of whimsy and his utter lack of self-consciousness lead Millicent to laugh—something she has been expressly forbidden to do for the past several days. Her reaction signals the beginning of her decision not to join the sorority. Feeling more connected in that moment to the little man than to the sorority girls, Millicent begins to think differently about what acceptance means to her.

Louise Fullerton (Lou) is Millicent’s foil. Louise conforms to societal norms of femininity by being pretty and popular; she is a “celebrity in high school” (241) and one of the senior members of the sorority. She is also very concerned with the initiates being accepted by the sorority—hence her warnings about how to behave, as when she asks Millicent to walk with her after school in order to give tips on how to fit in to the sorority. Though Louise seems genuinely friendly and interested in the initiates’ well-being, she assumes that well-being hinges on belonging to the sorority. In these ways, the story juxtaposes Louise with Millicent, who is initially grateful for Louise’s advice but becomes increasingly concerned with her individuality and behaving as she sees fit over the course of the story. Though Louise seems to be one of the kindest members of the sorority, she ultimately stands for the conformity the other sisters embrace.

Beverly Mitchell (Bev) is, like all the other sorority members, a flat character. The story assigns only a few explicit attributes to her, and those traits that are identified (e.g., “tough” and “calculating”) do not waver throughout the story. Bev is one of the senior members of the sorority and Millicent’s “big sister” for the duration of the hazing. Louise warns Millicent about Bev early on, stating, “Don’t laugh or talk back or try to be funny, or she’ll just make it harder for you, and believe me, she’s a great one for doing that” (243). This warning and Bev’s subsequent treatment of her make Millicent begin to question the sorority’s initiation process and the value of joining the sorority itself. After Bev barks at Millicent about doing Bev’s chores, Millicent feels “[r]ebellion flood[ing] through her” (243). She bristles in particular at the pleasure Bev seems to take in power and even cruelty. To the extent that the story has a single antagonist, Bev fills the role, creating narrative conflict by challenging, obstructing, and confronting Millicent. After Millicent learns about heather birds, she is no longer intimidated by Bev’s hazing techniques and Bev disappears from the narrative, signaling Millicent’s defeat of the authoritarian impulses Bev represents.