Now earlier, I tried to establish the despondency of this novel, but a little further in, and the characters turn out to be capable of happiness. Nothing has really changed in their situation, or their companionship (as the only other people are dead or have been struck by lightning, or are mysterious cannibals) but they've traveled more.
I expected the father, at least, to be happy in his old house, but he was just really nostalgic. His only thoughts were memories, and his only words were to the boy -- agreeing that they should leave (26). The boy certainly seemed to dislike it, and though I'm not sure why, that might be why his father didn't allow himself to be happy there. He exhibits some very obedient behaviors towards his son -- or maybe he's just subservient, or something else, I don't know, but he treats him preferentially in almost every way. He gives him the only can of soda he finds in an old supermarket (23) and goes into dangerous places first, always. Maybe this is simple fatherly love, likely augmented by knowledge that he will die first -- he seems to be dying, at least, because healthy people don't cough blood (30) -- but under the circumstances, it's much more intense. He says outright that he'd die if his son did (10), but at this point, the boy would die without his father as well. Maybe he knows this, or simply cares for his father similarly regardless of his survival instinct, but he attempts to stop some of his father's behavior. When his father gives him hot chocolate and drinks hot water, he objects, saying that his father "promised not to do that" and that he watches him all the time, so he won't break his promises. His father concedes and drinks some hot chocolate -- but even in this attempt to equalize them he is obedient.
As I was saying, their happiness is just as codependent as their lives as a whole. The man cannot be happy unless his son is, as illustrated when they find a waterfall, which the boy describes as "a good place" (40). Of course, this wouldn't be remarkable in the modern world, but in their world, good places are hard to come by. The man helps his son swim in the water, and finds mushrooms to eat -- a glimmer of life in the mostly dead world -- and they stay for a bit. But ultimately he can't let go of his worries entirely, and insists that they leave before the boy is ready. Still, he seems to enjoy his son's happiness, almost being happy himself. Almost.
PS You know what's really annoying? Every edit resets the entire post, and its time stamp. Ugh.
No comments:
Post a Comment