In the current novel that we are reading called “Americanah” the main character is called  Ifemelu. Her first time happens with her ex named Obinze who she has know for most of her life. While in the novel “The Bell Jar” the main character is named Esther and she decides to have sex for the first time with this math professor named Irwin who she knew for less than a week. With the character of Esther her love life is tragic the man she thought was inexperienced was just playing a character and the man that was her date was trying to pull a “Trump” on her. The person she finally decides to have sex with is experience and during the sex in the novel it writes “I lay, rapt and naked, on Irwin’s rough blanket, waiting for the miraculous change to make itself felt. But all I felt was a sharp, startlingly bad pain.” After this she wonder if she is no longer a virgin and notice that she is bleeding which must confirm it.

When Ifemelu does it with Obinze they don’t use a condom due to Obinze stated they will marry so it does not matter. What should of been a magically moment turn into a dissapointment. After they had sex it states in the novel “ She and Obinze should have planned it better; that way, she would know how to tell his mother. The unplannedness of it all had left her a little shaken, and also a little disappointed. It seemed somehow as though it had not been worth it after all.” What this means is that it was a let down and unpleasant. It was suppose to be this amazing planned experience that she would discuss later with Obinze mom. Later she started to feel pain and believe that she was now pregnant which it turns out not to be true.

Both of these ladies had this idea in their heads that the first time would be magically and they both ended disappointingly. They don’t want to discuss it with anyone after it’s done or are in any rush to go for round two. Esther gets something that will make sure that she wouldn’t get pregnant while with Ifemelu her partner used the oldest trick in the book that it does not matter when they have sex because they are going to get married anyway. Their first time they expected to feel transformed instead they have a moment of crisis in which they thought of what is about to happen next instead of living in the moment. They thought something was wrong with them afterward and the thought of being pregnant after having sex once if a lot of pressure to put on someone.