Chemistry

Esther avoids Chemistry in college by talking to the dean. She asked the dean to allow her to take chemistry without getting a grade. Esther said it was to free up space in her schedule for a Shakespeare course, but really she just wanted to avoid Chemistry altogether. So when she went to the class, she pretended to take science notes but just sat and wrote poems all class long. The dean and the Chemistry teacher both admired Esther for this because they believed that she loved Chemistry so much and she as such a good student that she would take the class for no credits or grades. Esther was a good student; she pretty much got straight A’s in every class, even Chemistry when she took it. The dean thought she was a model student, and was touched my Esther’s Chemistry plan.
Esther is obviously a writer. She is into English, rather than science. She talks about how she enjoyed botany, but can’t stand Chemistry. She mentioned how she loved the pictures and the interesting words from botany. Esther hated the ugly abbreviations of words for the elements and the “hideous, cramped, scorpion-lettered formulas.” Chemistry is all about method and why things happen. Esther isn’t really sure of what’s going on and what she wants. While she is talking to JayCee, she realizes she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life.