Father after the expedition

 

After Father returns to New Rochelle from the trip to the Arctic, he comes home to some quite drastic changes. Not only does he notice changes in the other family members (most notably the little boy), he notices changes in the business, himself, and the dynamic between him and the rest of the family. He feels alone and disconnected, and it also seems like he’s disappointed that everything seems to be doing better than ever without him.

The first thing that father notices when he arrives home is his wife with a new baby and a new guest in the house. From this detail alone, we can tell that it’s evident that he’s been gone for a long time, as there have been new additions to the household that he was unaware of. Not only is he unfamiliar to the new additions, but the family and the house as well. One thing that he specifically points out is his son’s new desk, which was “befitted [to] all young students” (Doctorow). He goes on to say that the boy seems taller and smarter and has outgrown his sailor suits, which were seen in chapter two, before father left. This is another sign to father that he’s been gone for too long – after talking to him, his intelligence makes father feel “childlike”, and father is sad that he’s grown up so fast without him. Doctorow goes on to mention how he’s taken interest in various books, Fathers arctic journals, Evelyn Nesbit’s silhouette portraits, and grandfather’s stories.

Another major change noticed by father is the business, which is booming. Mother has “assumed executive responsibilities”, and “contracted with four new sales agents in California and Oregon” (Doctorow). Four new sales agents seems to be an impressive, and the fact that they’re across the country is even more impressive. Doctorow notes that Father is astounded, signifying that he didn’t expect the business to be kept up this well. Additionally, Mother’s Younger Brother is experimenting with fireworks and other explosives like a crazed maniac, making them better than ever with a loud explosion in an all new spherical container design. It seems like father doesn’t really like the new changes in the fireworks, but the business is booming, so I suppose that in the end he was happy that he’s making money and sad that he couldn’t help out with the new developments. 

There are many more changes that I didn’t talk about, but these were the two of the biggest ones that seem to affect father the most. Although he’s happy that the family and business are doing well, it’s clear that he’s missed out on a lot and and consequently feels distant.


Comments

  1. TeoFebruary 18, 2022 at 10:51 PM

    I think that this trip for Father is really where the readers begin to notice how Father will be lost in history as time goes on. Throughout the book we see Mother and Mother's Younger Brother become increasingly progressive while Father is sort of left behind. This eventually leads to Father and Mother growing farther apart until Father passes away and Mother remarries in a much happier marriage. Nice post!

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