3. Genevieve was obsessed with details. She felt that everything that she submitted to her teacher had to be perfect. For the final project in reading class, students were given one week to use their art skills to bring a scene from a novel to life. Genevieve decided that she would build a shoebox diorama. She spent the first two nights creating an intricately detailed scene far superior to anything that her classmates would produce, but she ended up throwing it away because she didn't like how tape was visible at the bottom of the diorama. The next two nights she worked on a similar diorama, but this time she used glue. Again, Genevieve produced a beautiful product, but she was troubled by how the glue looked when it dried, so she discarded her work again. Over the weekend and into the next week, Genevieve recreated the project a third time. This time she used a special adhesive putty to construct the diorama and was completely satisfied with the appearance. Unfortunately, her project was now several days late and her grade on the assignment was lowered to a C.

Question

What is the theme of the story?

What happens in the story that leads you to believe this?

Answer 1

The theme of the story revolves around the perils of perfectionism and the consequences of being overly critical of oneself. Genevieve's obsession with making every detail perfect hinders her ability to complete her project on time, ultimately leading to a lower grade.

This theme is supported by Genevieve's repeated discarding of her work due to minor imperfections, such as visible tape and the appearance of dried glue. Instead of accepting these imperfections or finding a solution, she focuses solely on achieving perfection, which causes her to waste time and miss deadlines. Her realization of satisfaction with the final product comes too late, illustrating how her pursuit of flawlessness ultimately affects her success and grades.