How I Learned to Drive

This was a very interesting play. It was the first play I have read that deals with such a controversial issue like pedophilia. However, as most of us in society condemn pedophilia and think that people who commit this crime should be locked away forever, or maybe even given the death sentence, I feel that Vogel's view makes us feel less sympathetic toward Lil Bit and less condemning of Uncle Peck.

How Vogel accomplishes this is through making Lil Bit and Uncle Peck's relationship seem more like a romantic relationship than an adult man who has a weird fetish of having sex with underage girls. This is shown throughout the play in many ways. First off, Lil Bit and Uncle Peck never actually have sexual intercourse. I feel that if this play wanted to condemn people who committed pedophilia, Vogel would have had Uncle Peck force Lil Bit into having sex with him. However, Uncle Peck consistently tells Lil Bet that he is willing to wait until she is ready, almost like a regular relationship between a boyfriend and girlfriend where the boyfriend is not a virgin while the girlfriend is, and the guy wants to have sex with her but respects her wishes. Another point which makes Uncle Peck seem less like a pedophile is the fact that he is always there for her and seems to truly care about her well being. When Lil Bit has scuffles with her family, Uncle Peck is there to make it all better. He also teaches her how to drive and sticks up for her when she says she wants to go to college and learn something and her family says that she is only good for becoming a wife, having sex, and raising children.