In the Classic Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, the titular character is granted life by a magical blue fairy. Worried that this recently created boy would have difficulty discerning between right and wrong, the blue fairy assigns him a conscious. This conscious takes the form of Jiminy Cricket, a talking bug who advises Pinocchio on right and wrong. The idea of an external conscious is a common one in our society. We see shoulder angels in cartoons. Theologically, we believe in a Holy Ghost that tells us what to do.

In “Sexy” this Jiminy Cricket force shows up, reminding the main character of right and wrong.

The story opens on Miranda talking to her Indian coworker. She tells Miranda about her cousin’s husband, who was having an affair with a white woman. The husband was with her across the ocean in England.

This parallels Miranda’s situation with Dev. He and the white woman stay in Boston while the wife is in India. The blatant similarity is not lost on the reader, although Miranda seems to put it from her mind. The magic of her new relationship lets her squash her pangs of conscious. Laxmi is constantly talking to and about her cousin. This is the first appearance of the Jiminy Cricket force.

As the story goes on, the affair hollows out. As the affair loses allure, the Jiminy Cricket force increases. Laxmi tells Miranda more and more about the negative effects of her cousin’s affair. This wears on Miranda.

Jiminy Cricket himself shows up in the form of Rohin. Laxmi takes her cousin out to try and cheer her up, and leaves her son with Miranda. As Rohin talks to Miranda, she realizes firsthand how much she is harming Dev’s family. She understands that the affair was just a cheap experience with little future, and that she should end it.

Near the end of the text it reads, “(S)he had known all along: that it wasn’t fair to her, or to his wife, that they both deserved better” Miranda knew from the beginning she was doing something she shouldn’t. The Jiminy Cricket force eventually pushed her to stop.