Stay. Sit. Good girl, Nisha.

"A woman of color does not clean house, that was what her mother always told her, and it had become a kind of mantra when she was growing up, a way of reinforcing core values, of promoting education and the life of the mind, but she couldn't help wondering how much higher a dog-sitter was on the socioeconomic scale than a maid." (Boyle, 2)

T.C. Boyle's short story "Admiral" proves to be study of class and socio-economic status, utilizing Nisha as a contrast to the harsh and standoffish nature of the Strikers. Boyle creates the stereotypical, flaunting, self-interested rich class of people in the Strikers, portraying the neglect and lack of interest they have towards Nisha, emphasizing their pure interest in her services with Admiral. Nisha's mother consistently raised her with the indoctrinated idea of societal structure and job applicability for an independent, class-conscious, African American woman. Her mother detests second rate jobs, and instills the drive in Nisha to succeed, to further her education, to progress her place in society. She even convinces herself that the job is temporary, but when faced with the downtrodden state of her mother, she finds the necessity to continue with the opportunity. In reality, her mother would detest the job, seeing it as an inferior position, not worthy of her. She realizes her true worth over the course of the story. After Nisha starts her trials with Admiral, "She'd had the acceptance letter in her hand to show her, thinking how proud of her Mrs. Striker would be, how she'd take her in her arms, for a hug and congratulate her, but the first thing she'd said was What about Admiral?" (Boyle, 5) From the start, we see the difference in attitude, as the Strikers purely use Nisha Admiral's sake, uninterested in her worth and success. In essence, the Strikers buy Nisha just as they nought Admiral, treating her like an expendable asset, and not as a human being of equal right. Only "as the days beat on, she began to understand what her role was, her true role,"in the Striker family (Boyle, 21). She hits rock bottom, realizing her lack of success, her lack of potential, stagnant by the hands of the Strikers. She tries to rationalize her current situation, her dying mother, her current ties to the Striker family, thus realizing she must pave a new path and future for herself and Admiral. Her release of Admiral parallels her release from her shackled life with the Strikers, and subsequent lack of success and educational progress. She is free from her past, and looks forward, toward her life after this debacle. 

Discussion Question: 

Do you feel sympathy towards Nisha 's exploits or do you find her demise to be a consequence of her own actions? How would the story differ had the Strikers not foiled her plan to expose them?