Fancy Analysis Draft 2

Misty 

 

Jennifer 

 

English 1101 126

 

10 March 2014

 

Fancy

 

In one aspect Fancy is a typical American dream story in that she goes from poor to upper class in one lifetime. On the other hand, she is far from the typical American dream story because of the steps that she took to achieve the dream. The listener can tell that Fancy comes from poverty and ends up with the good life from her lyrics: “We didn’t have money for food or rent/ To say the least we were hard pressed.” Then later: “I charmed a king, congressman / And an occasional aristocrat / Then I got me a Georgia mansion / In an elegant New York townhouse flat / And I ain't done bad” (McEntire). Fancy ends up with more than the average person might expect from the American dream, Though Fancy’s story is not typical, she used what she had and made the most of her life to attain the American dream.  

Fancy’s mother puts her on a path to prostitution. Fancy was transformed into someone that she did not even recognize in the mirror: Mama washed and combed and curled my hair/ And she painted my eyes and lips / Then I stepped into a satin' dancin' dress That had a split from the side clean up to my hip / It was red velvet trim and it fit me good / Standin' back from the lookin' glass / There stood a woman where a half grown kid had stood (McEntire).
As a last act, her mother gives her a locket that says, “To thine own self be true.” This will resonate with Fancy for the rest of her life. Her mother is giving her the only chance that she feels that she can, and is telling her daughter “This is all that I can give you kid, go make the best of it.” Fancy’s mother does all that she can to give her daughter a leg up out of the lift she was born into.

 

The chorus chimes in:
She said "Here's your one chance Fancy, don't let me down.
Here's your one chance Fancy, don't let me down." (McEntire)

Now that Fancy is on this path, she has no choice but to follow through. She quickly learns what her new life role involves, and what she must to do survive. She soon meets a good man that takes her in off the streets. She works for him in a capacity that the lyrics do not really go into, other than “one-week later I was pourin’ his tea in a five room hotel suite.” Soon after she is charming powerful men: I charmed a king, congressman/ And an occasional aristocrat
Then I got me a Georgia mansion / And an elegant New York townhouse flat / And I ain't done bad (McEntire). The lyrics do not tell what Fancy is doing for these gentlemen, but one would doubt that it is pouring tea. Imagination determines interpretation in this song. One wonders if the benevolent man that takes Fancy in is getting a cut of her profits, much in the way that a pimp might get a cut of her earnings. Because Fancy has ended up in a higher economic bracket than she started, she has indeed realized the American dream, in that aspect. Haunted by how she got to the top, Fancy is no doubt there.  

Fancy promises herself that she will make something out of her life. She knew the path she was taking was not the traditional path to the American dream; she also knew that society looked down on her for it. Fancy had decided long ago that she would not let this bother her: But I couldn't see spending the rest of my life / With my head hung down in shame / you know
I might have been born just plain white trash / But Fancy was my name (McEntire). She knows that what she is doing is beneath her, but she must live through it to get through it. Her mother’s words ring in her ears again. "Here's your one chance Fancy, don't let me down." (McEntire).

            Fancy came up from severe poverty to end up in a Georgia Mansion, she fulfilled what many would call the American dream. What did she have to do to get there; she did whatever it took, even though she knew it was beneath her. Many people feel hard work is required to reach the American dream; though most do not have to make the choices that Fancy did. She always carried with her the pain her mother felt for putting her on that path, even though it was all that her mother could do for her. Fancy is not just an atypical American dream story, were this a true tale, then she would also be an atypical prostitute story. Many call girls start doing drugs as a way to escape the shame that they feel for what they are doing, ‘hooking’. In what turns out to be a terrible vicious cycle, they become addicted to the drugs that they have turned to for comfort, and then must ‘work’ to pay for the drugs that help them hide from the shame that they need the drugs for. Truly, a dizzying cause and effect often turn into a downward spiral for these women.

 

Addiction as a Risk Factor for Prostitution

At the street level pimps often use drugs to exert control over prostitutes…Once a girl is addicted, she is likely to show up looking for drugs and will be willing to do whatever it takes to get them. At this point the pimp will inform the girl that he can’t keep financing a free ride, and the time has come for her to start pulling her weight. In her addicted state she is experiencing overwhelming cravings for the drug and will do what she has to do to satisfy them. She has impaired judgment and is susceptible to control by a domineering personality. Drug addiction helps pimps keep prostitutes virtually enslaved. (2)

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Works Cited

1. McEntire, Reba. “Fancy” Rumor Has It. 1990
2. http://www.addictionhelpcenter.com/is-there-a-connection-between-prostitution-and-drug-or-alcohol-addiction/