Reading Lucy, by Jennifer Egan is a essay that’s based on a research novel about a woman named Lucille Kolkin who worked for the Brooklyn Navy yard during World War II as a mechanic for about two years. The author begins to create a bond with her as she continues to interview Lucy, not only learning about what she does and her studies as an engineer, but more of her personal life as well. Lucy then tells her about how she met a man named Alfred Kolkin and how they would send letters to each other as often as they could. Through this, they both began to create a close bond to each other as readers can clearly see that they both care about each other very much. But overtime, they began to drift apart, the only thing keeping them together was through the letters they sent. The author could tell that there bond was strong through the letters that they wrote to each other from time to time, discussing their current situations and developments. around the end when Alfred moves to a new Navy yard in California, They discuss things about a possible future with kids and a house and other things that an average married couple would do. The author soon finds out that Lucy dies years ago and is a bit crushed by the fact, but through reading her letters to Alfred along with a few online articles she found, she knows that she died doing what she wanted. In the end, she feels a bit of a reflection towards herself through reading Lucy’s letters and begins to question her future. but in the end, she concludes that you just have to live it out to the fullest.

From what i can learn about this essay is that people should live life to the fullest till the day they pass on. The author further implements this message through Lucy’s letters and the choices that she made throughout her time talking to the man of her dreams. I think its a rather personal thing that the reader can relate to with the story, for the soul fact that Lucy made the decisions that she did to be happy with herself and live life. It’s something sadly not alot of people think about now a days, people are so focused on the future, that they barley even worry about what makes them happy and what they want to do later on in that future time.

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