Summary of Driven by Desire
The essay “Driven by Desire” is written by Krista Bremer. The author is a lady who is a mother of a preschool girl. On one cold winter day, she encounters a mother in her new Volvo station wagon. In contrast, she drives an old 1992 Honda Civic, which is hard to glide down its window to talk to the lady. On seeing how she struggles with the old car, the other lady wonders that such a car still exists. Her statements make the author thinks of an alternative vehicle whose windows close effortless. She feels that such a vehicle can probably save him quickly in case of danger. However, the hurdle is convincing her husband that a new car was necessary.
Her husband is a miser who prefers buying cheap assets to expensive ones. He purchased the current old car after arguments about the safety of their daughter. His character is founded in her background. He was born and raised in a poor village in Libya with water scarcity. Medication, too, was poor. His mother “vaccinated” him by slicing his skin and putting ash as medicine within it. They were born thirteen, but eight children died.
The couples are from different backgrounds. The author is an American while her husband is from the Middle East. The wife hints that during her childhood at a cul-de-sac in Southern California, she rarely mingled with the poor Mexicans sleeping in tattered blankets. They started working at different ages. The wife started her job at sixteen years while the husband was already working in his father’s shop at five years. The husband is likely a Muslim since he can recite the Koran to blind Imam. It implies that he was knowledgeable of Islamic teachings. Her husband is thrilled by American life like first-class University Hospital by health insurance that is near the house. Parenting rituals of middle-class people also mystify him. He doesn’t understand why his wife spends more time on the internet, searching for car seats and baby cribs. He also questions why she used detergents on the daughter. He believes that good parenting implies making the right purchases.
The husband is loyal to his old 1986 Toyota Tercel car, whose state is wanting. The car shames her wife, especially amid classic vehicles like SUVs. It has covered more than 200,000 miles until now it cannot exceed more than 50 miles/hour, which forces him to drive on minor routes. He can now only drive it in steaming North Carolina summer since its air conditioners have failed. The husband has a stronger bond with the car than his wife.
The author insists on a new car, and she is offered taken out to make a selection from the lot of the used cars. She is neither pleased with Sedan, foreign sports, nor the rusty American car. At last, they buy a car with their hard-earned savings. Although it has power windows that glide up and down automatically, it cannot save her from dangers and also makes her put up with consumer culture that is credit-driven where most of the things are borrowed. According to Ivan Illich, the priest, such a lifestyle makes people prisoners of either addiction or envy.
Conclusion
Each of the couples in the essay has a different background. The wife is from a more affluent background than the husband. To the husband, any car is better. He wants to reduce expenditure regardless of the quality. On the contrary, the wife is more exposed. She loves fashion and up-to-date things. She wants classic materials and also compares her life with others. From the essay, our backgrounds significantly affect our lifestyle.