Literary Essay "And Summer Is Gone"

Friends might take on seperate paths in life. Susie Kretschmer's short story "And Summer Is Gone" is about a friendship that didn't last between two friends. Amy and David, people were once best friends, grow farther and farther apart from each other as time has passed. Amy has her own unique characteristics while David has his.

Amy has a different personality compared to David. She is an outgoing girl who is unafraid of anything. In fact, she is so entroverted that she greets David by "jumping agilely over the exposed water meter and looking right into [his] face" (3). In addition, she is an insecure girl who cares a lot about what others think of her. This is revealed when Kretschmer writes that "[Amy] hardly [speaks] to [David] at school, ever " (11). Moreover, Amy has lost herself in highschool, she tries to fit in and become popular; therefore, "though Amy wore cutoffs and grungy T-shirts in the summer, during the school year her clothes were the same as theirs" (11).

Unlike Amy, David has distinct charactersics. He is an introverted boy who is shy and timid. This is depicted when Kretschmer writes that he "[hides] alone" (20) in high school. Moreover, while Amy surrounds the populars and goes to "every party, every football game, every prestigious events at school," (20) David has only "a few acquaintances good enough to talk to between classes" (16). In addition, he "[dreams] of college" (19) and gets "straight-A's" (18) whereas "Amy's grades [slips]"(18).

Overall, it is clear that Amy and David have two contrasting character traits. Although they were once best friend, they took on distinctive roads for the future.