It is normal for adolescents to fantasise and indulge in hero worship. How far is it true of Sophie?

It is normal for adolescents to fantasise and indulge in hero-worship. Same is the case with the protagonist of the story, ‘Going Places’, Sophie.

Sophie is someone, who looks for an escape from her harsh reality in her fantasies. In the story, one can see Sophie idolising two individuals. One is of course Danny Casey, the Irish, star football player and the other one is Geoff, her older brother. Sophie loves Geoff the most in the family to the extent that she worships him and longs for his affection. Geoff is an introvert, he does not talk to her much and keeps himself busy with his bike. Sophie thinks that when Geoff is silent, he is far away somewhere in the mysterious world he belongs to. She too wants to be a part of Geoff ’s mystery world. She imagines herself riding behind him, wearing a yellow dress hearing the sound of people applauding for them. She wants him to think of her as an adult; it matters to her what Geoff thinks. However Geoff considers Sophie too young.

Her hero-worship for Danny Casey develops into a romantic fantasy, which she cherishes and starts to think as real. She lies about meeting him in person at the arcade. Her detailed description of the way he looks, his mannerisms, etc., makes her lie believable to her brother Geoff and her best friend Jansie. Sophie tells Geoff that Danny has asked her to meet him again and insist that he would certainly come, even though Geoff half believes it. Later on the day Sophie is supposed to meet Danny the second time, she imagines him coming and how she would react. Reality hits her hard once again when Danny does not come and it saddens Sophie. The fact is, she and Danny had never met in reality. Sophie had only seen him once playing at the stadium.