Interview

The first object I noticed around Emma was her bag, not only because it was sitting on the table directly in front of her, but also because the design on it was quite eye catching. The bag was of medium size, large enough to fit an average sized text book into, and box shaped. The trim and strap of the bag were a warm red and the sides of the bag were the same red and white in a filagree design. Covering the front of Emma’s bag were a few different kinds of flowers, bunched together in the left bottom corner. Green stems with buds sprung out from the bundle of flowers. Also decorating the bag were several words. When I looked at the words more closely I realized that they were French, which made me wonder if perhaps the bag was purchased outside of the country. The material of the bag appeared waxy, almost plastic looking, and it was fairly thin material. However, the red strap was canvas and sturdy.
As I said, the bag was the first thing that caught my eye; it was quite unique, I had never really seen a bag like that before. Where Emma acquired the bag was my first question to her because as I stated before I wondered if perhaps it was purchased from somewhere in France. She said simply that it was from the bookstore Barnes and Nobles for the price of twelve dollars. She then proceeded to show me that on the bottom of the bag was stamped “product of Barnes and Noble.” The bag was not for a special occasion, or a gift, Emma saw it and simply liked the design and the color. She explained that it is hard to find anything red, and although green is her favorite color, the store did now carry green and the red bag was better than the other blue colored bag that they had. Emma was also drawn to the French words on the bag because she is currently studying in French 204.
Emma purchased the bag approximately three weeks ago, when she intended to only buy one book. Instead she managed to add to her shopping list not only the bag, which was the last item that she picked up, but also a few various items such as folders and loose leaf paper. When Emma happened upon the red, flowered bag, she admired it and liked the look of it and was reminded of a friend’s bag that she had been fond of, but was not necessarily going to buy it. However, when Emma noticed that the bag was biodegradable and environmentally friendly she was convinced that it was a good purchase.
Emma wasted no time using her newly purchased bag on that day, when leaving the book store instead of taking a plastic store bag, she gathered her items inside the environmentally friendly bag and headed straight for the library for some studying. Emma explained that even though the bag was just an on the whim purchase, she really likes it and would be sad if for some reason she lost it or it broke in any way. It is useful to her for carrying her books to and from class; the size and shape are her favorite for a bag, however, she does wish that it had a pocket or compartment to carry small, loose items such as pencils in.
Although people either to tend either like or dislike the bag she carries with her, Emma enjoys it and uses it regularly to carry her books and various other items in.