I loved How I learned to Drive, by Paula Vogel. She puts a humorous spin on the painful concept of sexual abuse within a family. Peck, Lil' Bit's uncle by marriage, teaches Lil' Bit to drive, a lesson that all must learn in time. Peck gives Lil' Bit a series of lessons all of which have the underlying theme of staying control. Lil' Bit finally applies her uncle's wisdom when finally she sits in the driver's seat alone.


I felt contridiction when reading this play. I feel that Peck is to blame for abusing his niece, but somehow Lil' Bit was often a willing participant. Is it that Lil' Bit has a distorted view of abuse with the initial sexual abuse by her uncle? Or is Lil' Bit in complete control and knows exactly what she is doing to her uncle?


Lil' Bit, a very intellegent, very mature young girl who seems to be confident with her self, has a sexual relationship with her uncle. Vogel uses Peck, the infatuated uncle, as a way to defend Lil' Bit by creating him in a way that forces the reader to find fault easily in him. I feel that her sense of humor allows us to talk about the play in a lighter tone rather then if we had to take the situation more seriuosly. It's interesting how Vogel uses this metaphor of learning to drive which can be applied to many situations in life, just as many refer to the metaphor of learning how to ride a bike. At first you have to get a sense of balanace and after that everything just flows. I think Vogel uses the driving metaphor as a reference for family relationships, loving for who they are no matter how disfunctional they may be. It shows us that those who may hurt us may actually be the ones that love us the most. At times this play is hillarious, other times heart wrenching and touching.