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Post by Floyd on May 21, 2010 6:36:02 GMT -5
In chapters 4-6, the reader sees many rash, quick decisions being made, especially by the dad. Do you think that he is doing everything so fast because he is afraid of the pain or does he want to punish himself or is there some other reason?
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Post by Jake Response on May 21, 2010 17:41:47 GMT -5
I believe the father made such sudden decisions because of his need to leave the past behind him. His desire to leave behind his wife's death is apparent in his rushed behavior during the removal of the family's possessions during their move. He knows that bringing along anything that would remind him of his wife only distract him and make his sadness stronger.
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Post by Patrick Hernandez on May 23, 2010 23:11:31 GMT -5
The rationality for the father's quick decision making in chapters 4-6 is mainly because he is attempting to let go of his past. Like Jake wrote, the father felt that by getting rid of all the family's possessions and deciding to sail to the Bahamas would help him lessen the pain of losing his wife. I don't believe he was trying to punish himself in this section because if he was trying to, he would have kept all the memories of his wife in order to prolong his mourning. It may not be evident to his children, but I also believe that while he was making such rash decisions, he had his kids best interests at heart. I think he felt that if they were separated from the memories about their mother, they would be able to cope with the loss and move on more quickly. Could another reason be that the father has always wanted to start over and now without being held back, he is able to follow a previous dream?
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Post by Trevor on May 28, 2010 9:01:55 GMT -5
Jim's impromptu decision to let go of everything reflects his ugency to start a new "life." It almost seems as if he's deliberately trying to forget the past by creating an entirely new setting for himself and his sons. The immeasurable pain caused by the loss of a wife and mother must be catastrophic, but Jim seems a bit too hasty in his decision making. He doesn't consider the opinions and thoughts of his sons. On page sixteen, for instance, Ben tells his father that they never got to express their feelings about the idea.
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