You're Ugly, Too

"..Trapped out on a balcony with- with what? 'Really, I was just kidding!' Zoe shouted...She smiled at him, and wondered how she looked."

I got the impression that Zoe is mentally ill, perhaps bipolar. Her eccentricities seem more crazy than just weird, especially her social interactions, her Baggies of things, and her objects in her house. Even though other people find her strange, Zoe seems oblivious. She seems to have a distorted image of herself, thinking she's connecting with the students or that she's ironic. Evaluations of the students tell the reader a different story which adds both irony and humor. Those reviews give the reader a much deeper insight into Zoe and expose even more strange mannerisms. Because she's so weird and possibly crazy, she's a sympathetic character. I felt bad for her because she was so pitiful. She is so lonely, but she makes light of her situation. She applies her ironic, joking nature to many problems in her life: her class, her family, and her medical condition. She chooses to focus on her appearance which is insignificant and not appropriate given her current situation, especially at the party. She tries to cover up her issues and emotions with jokes, just like she used humor to cover her speech impediment.