Likes

While the story is told chronologically, it is not told linearly, with a beginning, middle, and end and each plot point affecting the next. Instead, it is told in a series of vignettes, short scenes that create moods, convey feelings, or build characterization. The vignettes are also not individual stories with typical narrative arcs; they are simply moments from Dave’s family life.

These vignettes combine to create an impression of Dave’s relationship with his daughter, which is likewise nonlinear. Their dynamic changes each day, depending on their moods and what has happened to them each day. This structure emphasizes that “Likes” is not a straightforward story about a father making progress (or not) toward getting to know his daughter. Instead, it is meant to parallel the way relationships are built in real life, through endless small moments together and the meaning one derives from them.

The story is peppered with allusions, or references to other works of literature or other cultural touchstones. Dave and Ivy are both characterized through their allusions, as these references sketch the framework of their different lived experiences. Dave’s allusions include more classical and adult topics. For example, he calls Ivy and other girls’ similar Instagram posts an example of “Groupthink,” alluding to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four to insinuate that this type of girl is mindless and indoctrinated into consumer culture. He also references Joan of Arc when he mistakes a makeup palette for a sleeping “pallet,” emphasizing his disdain for superficial interests over history or culture.

By contrast, Ivy and the influencers she follows use name-dropping over literary allusions: Home Goods, Simple, Clinique, YouTube, etc. These brands create a shared vocabulary for young consumers, each signifying something particular to them. Notably, Clinique has brand recognition for Dave and Ivy both, hinting that the generational divide is not as wide as he thinks.