"Learning to Drive" as a Life Lesson

Paula Vogel's play, How I learned to Drive, is about a young girl who faces life with a full plate of obstacles such as pedophilia, family pressures, and a little bit of incest thrown in on the side. Lil Bit’s family continuously pressures her on being a woman that she does not see herself as. Uncle Peck, her uncle and “driving instructor”, is a kind man, obedient to his wife, and enjoys the pleasures a young girl can offer. As the reader, we see Uncle Peck as a kind and Atticus Finch type character – even though he leads a differed life on the side. Vogel places both characters side by side, because they fill a void for each other. Lil Bit and Uncle Peck do not fit well within their society and need each other to escape from their insane family members. Although Lil Bit and Uncle Peck help each other through their societal issues, disturbingly they go about “helping” one another in an alarming manner.