In the short story "Cancer" by Janice Deal, who is the protagonist and what is the conflict? What is the main character's goal and what change does the character undergo? What are images in the novel and their significance? What is the significance of the title? What are other literary elements in the story?

The protagonist of Deal’s short story is Janine, an isolated young working woman who craves the attention of others. The central conflict of the story can be described as man versus self, since Janine makes the decision to lie to her coworkers to elicit their sympathy and concern. At the same time, Janine is consumed with the fantasy of the lie, and she feels as though supernatural forces aid her in keeping up the facade.
The character’s main goal is to feel validated that she is a worthy and interesting person, so she seeks attention from others based on a false pretense. Before inventing her illness, she felt as though she had nothing to offer and thus shunned social interaction. The story begins with Janine feeling unworthy, and by the end, she repeats “I am” to herself, indicating that her newfound attention has helped her feel real.
The significant images in the text are Janine dancing naked around her home to classical music, the smoky room in which the secretaries gather for coffee on Mondays, Janine’s increasingly gaunt appearance, and the crayon drawing that Sara’s daughter makes for Janine.
The title, of course, refers to the illness Janine claims she has. Taken another way, though, one could argue that it refers to the way in which one lie snowballs into many other lies over the course of months, growing and spreading like a cancer.
There are many literary techniques included in the text, but the use of italics is significant. Deal chooses to italicize certain portions of the text, which sometimes contain Janine’s thoughts but also seem random, since Deal includes Janine’s thoughts in non-italicized passages as well.