Chapter 1: Boy with a Skull
The author sets the story up by having the narrator appear to be on the run from a crime, yet the narrator doesn’t seem like a criminal in any way. What effect does this have when it comes to the narration?
I suggest using an online Dutch-English dictionary to help with the language here.
Why do you think he dreams of his mother in this situation?
Why do you think his memory of the birthday scene is so vivid, so important?
What does it tell you about the narrator’s mother that she strikes up conversations with doormen, waitresses, etc.? What does it tell you about his father that his father was annoyed by this behavior?
What does the negative behavior of the narrator tell you about him? What kind of person is he based on his account of his own bad behavior?
What does the narrator’s handling of his mother’s illness tell you about him?
How does the setting help develop the scene in this chapter?
Beyond the bare facts, what does the history of the narrator’s mother tell us about her as a character?
What is the importance of natures mortes?
What foreshadowing to the paintings provide?
After the explosion, what is the significance of what the narrator imagines in his groggy state? What does this tell you about him?
What is alprazolan usually prescribed for? Is this significant?
Why does he stay for such an intimate moment with the old man when he should have been looking for his mother? Do you think he imagines her there, or is it a spectre or spirit of some sort?
When first encountering the disaster, I was certain that the museum was part of the fallout from the 9/11 tragedy. Later it becomes clear it was a bomb. What part(s) of the description makes it seem that it was related to 9/11? How is it similar?
While the narrator searches for his mother in the wreckage, he encounters a slew of graphic scenes and horribly dismembered people. How does he present this information? What does that tell us about his state of mind?
What do we know at the end of the chapter that he doesn’t? How do we know this?
Chapter 2: The Anatomy Lesson
Chapter 2: The Anatomy Lesson
How would you characterize the narrator’s relationship with his father? How do you think this shapes the narrator?
Once the narrator returns to the apartment and begins searching for his mother, is there anything you think he should have done other than what he did? Can you empathize with his position during this?
When Theodore gets the call from the family services agency, what motivates him to repeatedly lie about his father’s whereabouts?
Why do you think it is easier for us to figure out his mother is dead than it is for Theodore to figure out? What keeps him from figuring out what we knew or suspected long before the knock at the door?
160 comments:
Theo’s parents are two very different people. His mother likes to start random conversations with random people, like doormen or waitresses. This shows that she likes people and takes an interest in their lives. In a way, it also shows that she’s kind; she took time out of her day to listen to someone. But Theo’s father is the opposite and gets quite annoyed when his mother converses with others. His annoyance is childish and shows that he doesn’t care for or even like people. He seems to think that these people, the doormen and waitresses, aren’t worth listening to and are there only to serve him, which is quite rude. Because his parents are very different in this aspect, it makes me wonder how Theo will turn out.
It is obvious for the reader to figure out that his mother is dead because it is not the reader’s reality, the reader has no skin in the game. The reader is merely looking at the situation from outside the box while this is Theodore’s reality and he is inside the box, so to speak. When bad situations occur or disasters happen, it is often difficult for those involved to see what is so obvious for everyone else unaffected by the situation. People often make poor choices in life because they are too close to the situation and see only what they truly want to see. They often go into denial because they do not want “that” to be so they blank out even the possibility of what others outside the box suggest to be a adequate assessment of the situation.
When Theo gets the call from the family services agency, I believe his motivation to avoid where his father is and his father's whereabouts are is that he wants to focus on someone he actually cares about. Theodore wanted to focus on the object at the moment and didn't want to have to deal with all the explaining while wasting precious time where he could be talking about his mother - time in which she could be dying and he didn't even know. If I was in Theodore's shoes, I wouldn't tell the people on the other line where my dad really was because I wouldn't want them to focus on where my father truly was, I would want them to tell me what they would've told him so I could hear whatever it was firsthand. I also think that he wanted to avoid the thought of someone who walked out on him, wanted to forget who the man was in general. His father and his whereabouts were irrelevant in the thirteen-year old's mind, the only thing that was important to him in that moment was his mother and where she was and what happened to her.
A person who strikes up conversations with others that may be irrelevant are often looked at as selfless, because they always care. This describes Mrs. Decker very well because she had so little, but gave her son anything she could, gave him all her love and cared for him as there was nothing left in the world. It is easy to find that Mrs. Decker is selfless because of the way Theodore acts. He is very attached to his mother, which shows that his mother did everything in her power for him, and would make him feel important. Also, the way he chooses to go where is better for his mother to get some air instead of going somewhere to get something to eat. Like mother, like son, right? Mr. Decker walking out on his family and being annoyed by them, shows that he is the polar opposite of his wife. While she would talk to anyone to make sure that their day is going well, Mr. Decker did not. Him walking out on them showed readers that he is not selfless, but selfish. He didn't care what others wanted or needed, didn't care about their well-being, just about himself. He said it plainly in his 'letter' saying that he wanted to start a new life for himself; not once did he send any money to his wife and son to help them with their bills, even when he knew they'd be suffering. While Mrs. Decker was scraping the bottom of the change jar for bus fare, Mr. Decker was probably sipping on champagne with his money, enjoying his so called 'new life'.
Well there is some obvious foreshadowing with the paintings. The Goldfinch is explained to be one of the few paintings that survived the gunpowder factory explosion that killed Fabritius and then soon after it is at the scene of another explosion hundreds of years later. The Anatomy Lesson foreshadows also, it shows the doctors/spectators leaning over the body of an oldish man, just like Theo does with Mr. Blackwell after the explosion. I found it really interesting to think about. Did the author choose those two pieces for their symbolism? Did she already have those pieces in mind and then the story formed around them? It was a nice touch to the story.
It is easier for the reader to figure out that the mother is dead because we have no emotional attachment to her. The reader only knows the mother for a hundred pages, Theo knew her his whole life. Theo lived every second of his life having a mother. It's impossible for him to think he is alone in New York, because he has never experienced it. Isn't denial the first step in loss? I'm not too sure on that, but it would make sense that he knew his mother was gone, he just didn't except it until the knock at the door.
Like Abbey said Theo's parents are two very different people which make sense because opposites attract. His mother is a very kind person. She loves people and has appreciation for art. Her love for people is shown when she strikes up conversations with strangers. She was probably very popular,had many friends, and is easy to get along with. Theo's father is on the other end of the spectrum. He is irritable and not easy going. He wasn't very easy to get along with. He probably had a short temper with his wife and his son.
Theo's mother seems to be a very important character and i think she will stay that way throughout the whole story. She was the person who impacted theo the most throughout his early life because his dad was never really around much and they never mentioned much about their extended family. And after his father left the picture his mother was his whole world. I predict we might see more of her late in the story through flashbacks of the narrators memory or maybe the narrator will describe some happy memories he had with her. As a character I feel she has a major importance to the story.
The narrators relationship with his father is sort of detached. He never was really close with him. His father seemed to not be able to stand being around and had a short temper with him for example he would glare at Theo in the kitchen if he made too much noise in the morning. In a way I feel like Theo's fathered was a stress in his life since Theo felt relieved when his father left him and his mother. I feel this might of helped shape theo to be a better person. To not drink heavily and be more responsible with money. I think his father leaving them did him some good too because it can help him be a more independent person and took a bad role model out of his life.
Theo's father is a person who isn't mature enough or mentally prepared to have a child, and instead of manning up and accepting the responsibility that has been given to him he just drinks and tries to forget about said responsibilities. Theo's relationship with him is pretty non existent if you try to judge it as a "normal relationship," Theo's father doesn't really care about him and avoids him most of the time. Theo's father is a real piece of work and there doesn't seem to be any way that he can be changed. That's why he's Theo's "father" instead of his "dad."
The fact that Mrs. Decker takes the time our of her day to have a small conversation with people like doormen and waitresses gives the reader the impression that she is a kind and gentle person who enjoys some of the more simple things in life. It tells us that Mrs. Decker genuinely cares about each and every person she talks to, and she makes sure that every conversation she has and every relationship she forms has real meaning behind it. This severely contrasts with her husband, Mr. Decker. Mr. Decker often becomes annoyed when his wife does such things, giving the reader the impression that he finds little value in people that, to him, do such trivial work. Mr. Decker doesn't feel that it is worth his time to bother with people that are, in his mind, lower than himself. This comparison helps the reader to reinforce their initial feelings about they feel about the characters - how Mrs. Decker is caring and personable, while Mr. Decker is arrogant and snobbish,
The scene Theo imagines as he's coming to is, in a way, almost as disturbing as the real scene that surrounds him. I'll honestly say that, at first, I seriously thought that people had somehow dragged Theo out of the building and were now assaulting him. While that is unpleasant enough, even more unpleasant thoughts came to mind when I realized Theo's real situation. The fact that Theo's extreme pain immediately makes him think of bullies tells me that Theo is very used to people directing things against him as an individual. Most people would say that they felt as though a boulder had hit them, or something of that nature; Theo, however, immediately pictures a gang beating him up. It seems that Theo is so accustomed to being a victim that he is subconsciously imagining himself as the bomber's sole target. How pathetic! My heart goes out to Theo, as the vast majority of his relationships with others have obviously been bad. These negative relationships have made him feel chronically alone and persecuted, a feeling no one should ever have to face.
This scene in the book is definitely a more graphic and disturbing scene. Theo describes bodies upon bodies, burnt, bloodied, and dismembered. Every direction is a new corpse that was alive and breathing only moments before. He even describes the smell of the burnt corpses and the air that he is breathing in. It is truly gruesome and horrific the way that Theo describes them but he only has one thing on his mind, his mother. Theo is running purely on adrenaline at this point and is so focused on finding his mother that he can’t exactly register everything around him. He is so fixated on his search that reality hasn't settled in his mind. The whole scene is so disturbing, but Theo is not completely aware of everything that has just happened.
The narration makes the narrator seem more mysterious then guilty of a crime. I think maybe he is running away from his demons, his mom being one of them. His mom is trying to tell him something but doesn't know how. He is in a foreign place for the first time in a detailed crappy hotel room, The dreams of his mom adds to the mystery of the chapter. The birthday scene is so vivid in his mind is because that was the last time he was truly with her. It seems like even though she was a striking person, she didn't have any friends. So she made conversation with everyone. I think his father wasn't a people person and his wife talking to everyone made him annoyed. He doesn't mind his friends smoking but he wasn't smoking at all, so it makes me think that he is the type of person that is a true friend. He doesn't want to get tom in trouble and he was going through the teenage phase when they were breaking into houses. Him and his mom tried to act normal as possible to make sure no one noticed. Chapter 1 made his mom seem like the perfect mother and someone everyone would get along with. In Chapter 2, we get a real sense of what his mom was like.
Theo's relationship with his father is not very strong and in fact when his father was around he was off in another world. His father was an alcoholic and didn't have a parental mindset and tried to drink away his problems. When eventually Theo's father left they barely noticed his absence and basically they felt as if they were better off without him. Theo and his mother received a quick note from his saying that he was alright but didn't leave any further information. This obviously shows the reader that he didn't really care to see his son again and had no intentions of sending any type of child support or shared custody. So the relationship between Theo and his father is not strong and quite honestly is nonexistent.
Theo does not have a relationship with his father. Even when his father still lived with him and his mother he still did not have a relationship with him. He was lucky to speak two words without getting into trouble. When kids are only raised by one parent their lives are so different from others. They don’t receive the care from the other parent that is gone which causes effects on their behavior. Theo seems to have quite the temper. Maybe if he would have had a good role model of a father then he would be less likely to get in trouble. His father never set good examples for him to follow. He was never able to reference good examples done by his father because he was barely around, and when he was, he was never happy. His father plays a role into how Theo is shaped as a person because he does not have a reliable father figure to teach him things a father should so he basically has to do things himself and teach himself.
In my opinion, Theo stays with the old man instead of looking for his mother not because he imagines her there, but simply because of the trauma of the situation and the way he was raised. Caught in the heat of the moment, Theo momentarily looses track of his primary goal in favor of listening to the old man. He is so caught up in the disaster, that his mind can only handle what is directly presented to him. In this case, the old man. After this encounter, Theo's mind comes back to thinking about his mother. Also, Theo's mother was an extremely caring individual. This attribute has been shown through the way that she takes the time to get to know each person she talks to, even if it's just in passing. No doubt, this trait has rubbed off onto Theo. Just like his mother (probably) would have done, Theo got to know the old man in his final moments through a meaningful conversation, even if it didn't last very long. Because of this demonstration to himself, Theo might have felt like part of his mother was there with him, eliminating the need for Theo to go and find her. He found temporary solace in himself long enough to enable himself to stay with the old man for so long.
I think Theo dreamed of his mother in his situation because she was the light in his life that he lost with her death. She was such a major factor in his life that he separates his life from before and after her death. With her being so important to him,(as most children view their mothers)it causes him to have a strong desire to know that he still has her love, that even though he's went down the wrong path,and feels he is to blame for her death that she will never stop loving and caring for him.
While I completely empathize with Theo's position in such a traumatic event, I'm shocked that he didn't try to look harder for his mom before leaving the museum. Also, I'm shocked that he stayed in the apartment, however, it's probably best that he didn't go out looking for her because who knows what could've happened to him while being injured from the explosion. Additionally, Theo lied to the family services agency about his father's whereabouts because he doesn't care what his father's doing at all he just cares about what is going on with his mother.
At the beginning of this chapter Theo claims to be in some sort of trouble. From that situation on in the story I received the vibe that he could be untrustworthy or didn't always speak the truth. A good example of when Theo's attitude is deceitful (according to my standards) is when he mentions that he wants to go out to breakfast (Numerous times) yet he sways the conversation to something that would make his mother happy. After thinking more clearly about this tactic I realized we all do this. When faced with an uncomfortable situation ( you did something wrong) you tend to focus more on what would make the other person happier in turn to possibly shift their anger for you.
Another major scene in the story is when Theo went to the older man instead of trying to find his mother. At first I realized that it makes sense he went over to find the man because that was the first thing he saw, but where the interesting part hits is the moment after he fully understands that he is trying to help this man (whom is not his mother) and shifts to go find her instead. I might add that during this entire scene I was focused in on the old man and picturing spewing blood and him slowly dying (Very uncomfortably gross). I believed he stayed with the man because that was the only thing he could think of at the moment... "this man is hurt, he needs my help *natural instinct kicks in* GO". To my understanding Theo stayed with the old man in a time of comfort when he was slowly dying.
Theo's mother was very interpersonal and enjoyed talking to people regardless of whether she knew them or not. (There would be less issues between people if they had interpersonal skills and understanding of each other's differences). Theo's father seems to have issues with people , which could be caused by something that happened to him when he was younger. He's annoyed with Theo's mother when she talks to anyone and everyone since he just wants to get what he wants done without dealing with other people longer than he has to. (Theo's father is impatient with other people and it could be caused by him thinking that everyone else is inferior to him). His father also wants everything done instantly. If he wants something done by a certain time, it better be done at that time or earlier (if that makes any sense).
Theo's relationship with his father is similar to one between a father and son, where the father didn't want kids and since the mother got pregnant, he would eventually leave them. The relationship between Theo and his father are similar to the situation I just described and Theo is the way he is because he really only had a single way of being brought up. Since his father really isn't around much, Theo will "act out" and/or get away with things since his mom won't be able to keep an eye on him 24/7. I personally feel bad for Theo because he has the social skills and patience of his father, which could eventually get him into trouble.
When the narrator first begins to describe the bomb, I had no idea what happened. I didn't know if he just passed out or if there was a bomb. All the book states is that there was a "tremendous,earsplitting blast that shook the room.". At first I was certain that this was part of 9/11. The setting took place in NYC and it was a populated area.The focus of that mission was high body counts, this is repeated in the museum bombing. After Theo awakes from being unconscious it becomes more obvious that this was a bombing. The reader however is still unaware if this was part of 9/11 or not. However later in the chapter it states that it was done by a "homegrown terrorist."
After looking up what Alprazolam is used for it is very ironic in the situation. Alprazolam is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. In this stitution either disorders would be hyperactive and the woman would need her medication. Seeing that it is in her purse it looks to be an as needed medication,not something that would be taken daily although certain medications can be used daily.
Theodore’s relationship with his father was never good. It is made clear early on in the book that Theo’s father did not care much about his family; he drank a lot, would go out and not come back till the morning, come home from work and simply sit on the couch to watch TV, and made it clear that he did not want to be bothered by anyone not even his wife or his child. This being said, when Theo’s father left he wasn’t missed very much. In a way I feel like this made Theo and his mother closer; even though their money supply was low, they still made the best of it, even if it meant they ate cheap Chinese most every night. These events shaped Theo by viewing his mom as the only parent he needed, and when he lost her he too became lost.
Alprazolam is essentially and off-brand of Xanax. This medication is used to treat depression and Agoraphobia, in other words, fear of situations that cause panic of helplessness. This is significant since Theo is currently in a situation causing panic with the art museum bombing. Speaking of Agoraphobia, finding this medicine foreshadow the panic that Theo is in when he tries to find his mother. Due to this sudden bout of panic, Theo returns to the apartment to search for his mother when he should have talked to the authorities at the site of the bombing for answers. However, he did not want to face the reality of his mother possibly being dead. I can empathize with him while he is doing this because it is easier and much more comforting to deny the bad in a situation and hope for the little possibility of everything being alright.
Theo and his father didn't really have a relationship. His father seemed to just be a man that lived with him and his mother, not the loving parent he was supposed to be. This left Theo without a strong male role model. I believe that not having this role model really shaped the person Theo became. He didn't have any good memories with his father that he could look back on and learn from. Theo's mother was basically a single parent which was difficult on her and Theo. Theo's home life definitely played a huge role in his personality as he grew up.
I think it is easier for us to figure out that Theo's mom is dead because we never really got a chance to connect with her. Theo lived his whole life with her and loved her more than anything. The absence of his father left Theo with a strong connection to his mother. As the reader you're able to put two and two together but Theo couldn't. His denial was probably the main reason he didn't figure it out sooner. No child wants to believe their mother is dead. Even with all the suspicion and doubts Theo was unable to believe or even think his mother could be dead until the knock at the door.
Theo's relationship with his father is not really connected at all. His father had no parental role model sort of view that Theo should have had. Theo being the only male role left I think gives him a sense of independence. The relationship between Theo's mother and father is even less connected. Theo's father is distant and as some have already stated before, not a people person. This really comes into conflict with his mother who is very actively social as she is making conversation even in the smallest of situations. This takes a toll on both Theo and his mother since they are all each other have left. After the death of Theo's mother it's understandable why it's it hard for Theo to believe it. How could the only thing he truly had left be gone?
Many people have been talking about the difference between Theo's parents, and I have a new thought to add to the conversation. Their behavior could be mimicking their needs as well as their personality. Yes, the tendency of Theo's mother to socialize with random people does say that she is a kindhearted, outgoing woman, but it also suggests that she is lonely. Because she and her husband are total opposites, she feels no connection to him whatsoever and attempts to make up for that by chatting enthusiastically with the other people around her; she savors that brief feeling of friendship. Theo's father is annoyed by this, which, as many have accurately stated, suggests arrogance, but I also think it portrays him as an insecure man. In my opinion, he doesn't really think that other people are inferior to him; rather, I think that he has tricked himself into believing this, so as to give his poor self-esteem a boost. To support this false belief, he needs the full attention of his wife. When she fails to give him this, he suffers a huge blow to his ego; he maintains his arrogant cover by acting angry instead of desperate, but in truth he is dying on the inside, thinking that she sees these perfect strangers as more important than he. Both of Theo's parents are looking for something, and they subtly show what they seek by their behavior toward others.
Since the moment Theo arrived back at his apartment, he was in a state of shock. He had just experienced a traumatic event and wasn't thinking logically.He searched the apartment frantically for clues that she was there, but deep down he knew something bad was happening. He wasn't willing to admit the possibility that something horrible had happened. When the family services agency called, the only thing he was focused on was finding out the whereabouts of his mother. Theo didn't want to take the time to explain his complicated single-parent home, he just wanted to hear that his mother was safe.
In the taxicab, Theo's mom gets very carsick. Theo takes the initiative to stop the taxi and get his mom out. He also gives up his chances to go eat a breakfast just so his mom can be out in the open where she can breathe comfortably. He also offers to go walk through the park for a while. This caring behavior of Theo shows how close he is to his mom, especially after his father left them. His handling also shows normal teeange behavior; he knew he was about to make his mom upset at the conference, so he was being extra nice to her, just like how any other teen would do before getting in trouble. Most of all, it shows his love for his mom and how he'd put her in front of his needs anytime. At the end of this chapter, we know that Theo will not be seeing his mom when he gets home like he hopes to. Since the beginning of the book, we've been told that Theo's mom dies, so we know that she has to have died in this accident. Theo, on the other hand, still has intense and somewhat unrealistic hope that his mom is alive like how any other person would for their loved one.
By beginning the novel with a scene that portrays the narrator as somewhat of a criminal and somewhat of a confused child, it not only draws the reader in with confusion, but makes them think about what kind of person the main character is. His actions make him seem guilty but his thoughts are frightened and shaky. When it comes to narration, this makes the reader feel close to the character because they are talking straight to the audience, which allows them to develop a sort-of imaginary personal relationship in order to better relate with the narrator.
The fact that Theo's dad was annoyed by his mom's social tendencies speaks volumes about the home life Theo must have had. Theo's parents came off as complete opposites to me, which is why it wasn't hard to believe that they split up. Theo's father is very irresponsible and left the hardship of raising a child on his mother's shoulders alone. His annoyance with her extroverted personality tells us that he often kept to himself and didn't worry too much about other people.
I think Theo gets his negativity from his past as well as his father's absent-melancholy persona. However, just because he is negative and pessimistic doesn't mean he is indifferent toward the people he loves, which, in this case, is his mother. Theo is as good of a son as he could possibly be. He cares for his mother more than anyone else, and he always tries to make sure she is happy.
The author starts the book by making it seem like Theodore is on the run from a crime to represent the past he is actually running from. Donna Tartt wants the reader to question Theodore’s life; she gives a glimpse of Theodore’s current life to really hook the reader. In doing so, Donna Tartt revealed the pain that Theodore carries from his childhood. It shows that Theodore has a heavy load in his life. Therefore, the entire narration comes across as a sad glance at the past.
I think the birthday scene is important to Theodore because after his mom died he wanted to remember the good things about her. Even though he described it as an ordinary birthday dinner, it was exactly the opposite. That particular memory was a great one because she was so happy and beautiful and that’s all he needed to see.
The bombing of the museum is similar to 9/11 in a more ways than one. In both events, the building/buildings were falling and chaos was everywhere. People were running around frantically and for a while no one knew what was going on. Confusion was everywhere. Both situations were completed by terrorists and both resulted in numerous deaths. They were both extremely heart wrenching tragedies.
It’s easier for the reader to come to the conclusion that Theodore’s mother passed away because outsiders can see the entire picture whereas Theodore can only see what’s going on that very second. The reader has time to process information and think things through while Theodore only has a few desperate moments to do something. He is desperate and injured, he literally can’t even handle the thought of his mother not making it. Theodore goes into denial.
While talking on the phone with the family services agency, Theo keeps lying about where his father is by saying he's sleeping and can't take the call right now. Theo doesn't tell the lady that his father left him because he doesn't want to feel that extra sympathy from her. He wants to make the most normal excuse possible to get the lady to tell him what happened to his mother. Also, Theo still doesn't think his mom could have died, so he finds no harm in telling the lady lies about his father's whereabouts. It took a knock on the door from two strangers for Theo to finally realize that something is horribly wrong. For us readers, it is easier to figure out that Mrs. Decker is dead because we don't have the same emotional attachment that Theo has to her. Theo didn't even think death was a possibility because of the low chances. He saw on the news that only 25 people had died and found it too unlikely that one of those 25 people was his mom. Like anyone else, Theo didn't think of the worst and instead told himself that he was overthinking the whole situation, which was much more likely.
I think theo stayed with the older man to comfort him. Even though his main focus was finding his mother, the old man was the first person he saw after the explosion. He was trapped and had trauma to his head and was confused. Theo stayed to make the old man more comfortable. When the narrator and his mother were in the taxi, Theo notices his mother becoming uneasy. He tells the driver to pull over so his mother could have fresh air. At this moment the narrator shows how truly close he is with his mother.
I think he dreams of his mother in this situation because he wants to remember her vividly. He never wants to forget her memory. When some has passed away, people always try to remember the little things they loved the most about that person. For Theo to put the blame of his mother's death on himself only makes the dreams more realistic.
Theo refuses to accept the reality that his mother has died, its easier for Theo to believe that his mother had been out getting dinner at 2 in the morning than to be dead.The reader knows right away that the mother is dead, the reader jumps to the most logical answer. The reader reads with an open mind, on the hand Theo has a fixed mindset that his mother couldn't possibly be dead.
Theo's mother is the parent portrayed as the shining light in Theo's life. She greets all of the doormen and engages in long conversations in times where most busy city people would try to make all conversation short and sweet, to get going with their day and manage their time. Instead, Theo's mom seems to enjoy this time, which exemplifies her loving traits despite the hardship she has gone through with her not-so-loving past husband. On the other hand, Theo's dad is the parent portrayed as the dim light in Theo's life. He was never around, never there for him or his mother, and was extremely discouraged by Theo's mother's happy social tactics all the time. Maybe that is why Theo's mom continued to talk to these random everyday people she saw, because it is what Theo's father hated so much, and she wanted to do the opposite of what he wanted after he left.
The narrator has no relationship with his father. He is an alchoholic who is not involved with any of Theo's school functions. They are very distant with each other and it's obvious to see the power he has over their family. Theo and his mother can easily anger him and are not surprised when he doesn't come home.
Theo's negative behavior reminds me of the stereotype all kids who have a parent missing in their life have. When they are younger, they start to do things that sway from following the rules, possibly to grab attention. Theo was this way after his dad left him and his mother on their own. Sure, they were definitely better off without him and they were happier after he was gone, but every kid needs a dad just like every kid needs a mom. In this case, Theo needed a different dad than his biological one. Theo loved his mom and wanted to make things easier for her, but he continued to break rules at school, hang out with kids he shouldn't, and eventually get suspended. Theo doesn't want to reflect his father, but I think he wants it known that not having a childhood with one didn't help him.
When the Theo gets the call from the family services agency he can't help but query as to his mother's whereabouts and to find out if she is indeed alive and well. When the caller asks for Theo's father, who is absent, Theo lies because he doesn't want them to know he is alone or perhaps he was taught to not tell strangers that he is home alone.
As a reader I feel that we readers were able to see the foreshadowing of Theo's mother's death and also due to we are not emotionally attached to the mother character we readily accept the fact whereas he is not because he has such a close bond with her. As we read we see that she doesn't attempt to call or have someone else see if her boy is O.K. therefore we expect her character to be expired.
My favourite scene (thus far) has to be Theo's desperation back at his apartment. It's presented as a whirlwind of emotions as he tries to convince himself that his mother is, in fact, going to come home. His way of calming down is to think about how his mother will react to things (such as what she would think about him saving the painting) and to prepare the house for her return (fixing the drawer for her, for example). It's a coping mechanism to deny the odds against him, which makes it all the worse when the phone finally rings from the NYDoCFS--he truly thinks things will be all right--or he's convinced himself that they will be, at least. I think Tartt's writing shines here; in my opinion, she tends to sometimes dwell too much on unnecessary details for effect, but all of the information she gives us here provides us with even more heartbreak. We know his mother didn't survive, but at this point we're standing next to Theo, begging for a different ending.
In my opinion, I think that it is way easier for us to figure out that his mother is dead because there is never a chance to connect with the character. He had lived his entire life loving her more than anything. The reason why Theo and his mother have such a strong bond, is because his father is absent. Theo doesn’t understand, but as a reader it is easier to make the connection. No kid wants to believe that his/her mother is dead and so that may be why he is in denial. Theo was going to continue to believe that his mother is alive, and will someday be at the door waiting for him.
At first Theo probably stayed with the man because he didn't know what else to do. He barely knew where he was, but as he started remembering things and realizing what was going on he stayed with the man just to comfort him. He needed Theo and Theo is much too kind to say no. I think he makes sure to always be there for others when no one else is. Like when he got his mother out of the taxi when she was sick... He is a very caring person. I think he lied about his father to the people that called about his mothers death because he wanted to know what was happening as soon as he could and was probably too embarrassed and rushed to explain that his father had left them.
Theo lies about his father's whereabouts primarily because he wants to be told what's going on. He doesn't want the matter to be between adults, especially at this point, and feels as if he has every right to know what's happened. His father is the last person he wants on his mind, and I think he especially wants to drop the conversation about him and move onto what's important to him. Because his mother is presented to us as a light in his life, it's easy to empathize with Theo throughout this entire conversation. He just wants answers, albeit positive ones, so he can work things out, as would anyone else when missing someone so important. Still, the lack of an definite answer on the woman's part gives him a chance to pretend his mother will still come back, and I think the man and woman at the door finally make him realize the truth due to their realness. They aren't a voice on the end of the line, but unfamiliar, physical people who have a reason for being there.
The way Theo's mom has conversations with others shows that she is kind, respectful, and caring for others. She likes to talk to those around her and likes to try and leave the conversation with everyone feeling jovial. She is willing to take time out of her day and just follow up with anyone she can, maybe the doorman was having a bad, she talks to him for a few minutes and now he is more optimistic towards the rest of the day. Anyone that is annoyed by this behavior either lacks respect for people or just doesn't care for anyone at all.The reason I am saying this is because Theo's dad is not exactly on the right path and has not been for some time; His dad also is not around or involved in Theo's life, which is a good thing, Theo's dad is a terrible example of how to be a human being and even if Theo acts out his mom is a very loving and forgiving person.
Theo's mother was clearly a friendly person. I think it's safe to say that Theo's father was a lot more aloof than his mother because he apparently didn't just talk to people, but him being annoyed with Theo's mother for making conversation says much more about him. Maybe he felt he was too good and that the people she talked to were below them, or maybe he felt like she was wasting their time? Theo pointed out before that he and his mother were happier without his father, even though they didn't have as much money. I feel that his father being annoyed by his mother's chattiness was more than a small clash of personalities.
Theo says he was a scholarship student that got behind because his father left him, but his breaking and entering and "smoking" makes him seem like a bad kid on the surface. When he gets to talking about it, though, he feels really guilty about it, especially shown when he says, "Whenever I thought about this, I felt nauseated... For hours the night before I'd lain awake tortured," talking about the breaking and entering and how he worried if anyone had noticed. I think he was friends with the wrong person in this case, based on how Tom cut Theo off to say, "Look, don't be stupid, Theo, nobody knows a thing, just keep your mouth shut," while they were on the phone.
I think the fact that his mom has conversation with other people is obviously an example nice she is to random people and how she cares about everybody no matter what their role is in her life. This is obviously counterpointed by his father who is unsociable and terrible to people. This is even worse because he can't stand his wife being nice to people either. However most of this has already been summed up in the comments. I think that on top of her overall personable disposition, Theo's mom is so social with strangers because she doesn't get to be at home, she needs an outlet for communication because she is basically neglected by her terrible husband.
Theo's relationship with his father is... icy to say the least. He doesn't even like it when his mother says he is acting like his father because he can't even stand to bear the resemblance of him. This is probably well justified considering not only the fact that he was a pain to live with in the first place, but also because he had no qualms in leaving the family that he started for a "new start" in Las Vegas, without even being able to do the justice to his child of paying child support. This may have lead to the adult Theo we see in the first chapter who appears to be a criminal on the run from whatever he did wrong.
Theo's experiences with his father has definitely shaped his character. And by experiences I think it's safe to assume that there is not much positivity associated with them. When a parent leaves a child I can only imagine how heart-wrenching it feels. I believe that because Theo had such a terrible relationship (if you can even call it that) with his father, it led him to some paths that he would've never gone down had it not have been for the absence. Theo was not an ignorant child, he was just put in bad circumstances at a young age and is being forced to cope with a life he can't handle alone.
When Theo gets the call from the family services agency he lies for his own protection. It's not that he is a compulsive liar, he just is confused and doesn't want anything else bad to happen. After all, we all know what would happen if he had said "I have no idea where my dad or mom is". They would have placed him in foster care, etc. He is motivated by his fear.
I think its easy for the reader to assume his mother is dead because all the facts line up.. she hasn't been home.. there was an explosion.. and he didn't see her at the scene of the crime. I think that since Theo is so scared he wants to assume that his mother is still alive and is just having a hard time finding him... after all, if i was placed in his shoes I wouldn't want to assume the worst either.
It is easier for the reader to come to the conclusion that Theo's mother is dead because we are reading all of the facts from a rational perspective, whereas he is obviously not in his best state of mind at the time. Theodore is so blinded by hope that he doesn't see the evidence that is right in front of him. He wants to hold on to that small possibility that she is still alive, even if all of the signs suggest otherwise. Although his "logic" may seem unreasonable to the reader, I think that almost anyone would react the same way that he did if they were put in that situation.
Theo's mother interacting with doormen, waitresses, etc. shows the kind of person she is. Unlike his father she is a person that doesn't think of herself better than anyone. She is a compassionate woman that knows what it's like to be mistreated. The abuse that she takes from her husband is not something she would like to inflict upon anyone else, she knows what it's like to be in their shoes and feels like they should be treated just as you'd treat any other person. Theo's father acting the way that he does shows how little he cares for people no matter if they are doing him a service or not. He's the type of person that feels like the world owes him something and if it's not done to his standards they should pay for it.
As we find out in the first chapter we learn that Theo takes the drug Alprazolam in high dosages to try and ease his mind off the events that have happened to him in his life. Alprazolam is an anti-anxiety and panic disorder that controls panic and anxiety attacks. This is definitely significant because as we learn throughout the novel he needs these drugs to keep his mind off his mother who tragically died, his alcoholic and abusive father, and the scene in which he encounters after the explosion that kills many in the art museum. This drug helps to shape Theo throughout the rest of the novel thus far. This drug helps him to get away from the authorities and the fact that his mother is gone, it really pushes just cools him down and helps him to think about the current situation he is in.
The fact that she's always striking up conversations with people show she's very friendly, possibly a little too friendly in the eyes oh her husband. It also shows that no matter where she may stand n life, she never looks down on those who may be of a lower class. What it tell about the father, is that he might've been a man who thought he was too good for the world. While his wife was very humble, he was a man who felt he had power and control over people; like he was too good for those working below him. It also shows he might've been a very unsocial man who just didn't like the idea that his wife was and was friendly with everyone.
The negative behavior of the narrator shows that he might not think before he acts and he could possibly be impulsive. Although Theo the narrator has done some pretty bad things, it doesn't make him a bad person. When he was in grade school and he was in trouble with his friend, it wasn't really him who was completely in trouble. Everything he did, he did with a friend who wouldn't even listen to him over the phone. Theo just went with him and did whatever his friend did just because he didn't think any other way. So I would believe that he's the type of person who depends on other people. Or at the very least molds into the type of person he surrounds himself with.
The obvious takeaway from the mother's behavior is that she is a genuinely kind, outgoing person. She goes above and beyond simple "common courtesy" and is a person who makes others around her happy. The key is that she is genuine, which leads the reader to believe there must be a reason behind it. Her behavior and the reasons for it tell us a lot about not just her, but also her husband. It is apparent that she was abused/mistreated by her husband and believes nobody else deserves that. Everyone deserves to be treated kindly. Her husband is nearly opposite. He is a violent man who is mad at the world and thinks the world owes him something. Because he doesn't get what he thinks he is owed, he takes it out on everybody else.
Theo stayed for the moment with the old man because of the ring and the message he gave him, pointing at "The Goldfinch",which Theo took as an indication to take it. Another reason could be who the old man was accompanied by. Theo fell in love at first with the red-headed girl who accompanied the old man at the museum. Theo staying for the old man could have been because of this girl he had fallen in love with.
Given the book we previous read, I also had the first impression that this book was related to 9/11 because of the striking similarities. It was all too similar... Normal people were carrying out their normal lives, when, out of nowhere, their entire lives go up in smoke, literally. The descriptions of the fearful panicking, disappearance and the uncertainty of the fate of loved ones was all too similar to 9/11. Both scenes were a chaotic, mad panic and scramble of ordinary people who's ordinary days went up in flames. At the end of the chapter, we can infer that Theo's mother is dead, but he has not figured it out yet.
The fact that Theo's mother always strikes up conversations with doormen, waitresses, etc., means that she is a very caring and loving person even to people she does not know. she would never pay attention to if they were lower class or upper class and she didn't pay attention to their race, gender, etc. she just wanted to have a conversation with someone. the fact that his father was always annoyed by this showed that he is no where near as kind and loving as Theo's mom. it shows that he is an arrogant person that believes he is better than everyone.
Alprazolam is a drug that is used to treat anxiety caused by depression. this is significant because after the bombing and loosing your mother i believe that you will develop some sort of depression and or anxiety. Theo is taking this drug in high dosages tho which can be a problem. while taking the high dosages, it is easier to overdose which can result in death.
Theo's relationship with his father is not solid. There is nothing between them except that it is his biological father. In fact Theo doesn't want to be associated with his father. He is angry and bitter that his father left him and his mom. His father is just a memory that he wants to forget. Although he can't because his name is his fathers name, "Decker". This shapes Theo in a negative way. He has an emptiness of not having a father which gives him anger even if he doesn't know it.
Theo most defiantly could have dealt with the situation a lot better than what he did. For instance, he rationalized that his mother was still alive. Therefore he was trying to stall and wait until she came home. Theo did not want to accept the fact that his mother was dead. There was no way he would unless he saw her. I think that he should have stayed at the museum and asked any firefighters or paramedics to find her. Although I can empathize with him because I would never want to accept that one of parents died. No child wants to find out that their parent is dead, so rationalizing and make excuses is what I would have done as well.
Theo dreams of his mother in this situation because he misses her and that is the only way he can really vividly remember her. he wants to remember her as much as he can because he loved his mom. i also think that he has dreams about his mother is because he believe that he was the cause of her death and he cannot let that go.
The way the story is introduced increases a sense of curiosity for the audience. Theo appears to be in a very difficult situation and he is alone with his thoughts not knowing what other people are saying because he only speaks English. He dreams of his mother because he is alone, she provided all the love and support he had ever gotten because his father ran off on them. He remembers the birthday because she died rather close to the time of that event and that was most likely one of the most recent happy memory he had of her. The fact that she liked to strike up conversations with other maybe seen as less than successful people showed how she respected everyone she met no matter the circumstances. Her husband did not enjoy it when she talked to these kinds of people which show that he is unkind and angry.
Theo's father and mother are two polar opposites when it comes to personality. Theo's mother is kind, warm, and friendly. She pursues conversations with all people, whether stranger or a friend. She shows interest in what others have to say, as well as cares about their emotions. Theo's father on the other hand is selfish, and often ignores others and their feelings. The friends he does keep are those that he drinks with. Theo's father was often annoyed with the mother because he acted as if it was unnecessary and time-consuming. Their relationship reminds me of that of Percy Jackson's mother and step-father in the Lightning Thief series.
It is much easier for us to figure out that the mother had died because of the various phone calls that Theo had received. Theo called so many times and in such a demanding manner that the person on the other end began to become annoyed and vague about the search for his mother. Eventually they returned the phone call, but they withheld the information about his mother's death and only asked to speak to his father. Instead of telling them that his father was no longer around, Theo lied about his whereabouts and hung up. This helps us assume that the mother did perhaps die in the explosion before they retrieved Theo from his apartment.
It is easier for us to figure out that Theodore's Mom is dead because we didn't have a very close connection with his mom. He is facing the first of the five stages of grief, denial. When he gets home he leaves things out and waits for his mother to get home. when she didn't come home he frantically called missing persons hotline again and again but to no avail. When they called back they asked to speak to Theodore's father, which Theodore responded he can take a message, but the continually asked for the father. That only means very bad news. Theodore waited for a while after he hung up the phone, since they would not tell him the information, but when they came to pick up Theo was the nail in the coffin for the reader and Theo.
With the interest of Theo's mother, they are different than what regular people know. For instance, she is fascinated with paintings. Not only is she fascinated with paintings, but she knows everything about the paintings. This shows that she is educated and interested in such historic paintings. She is not the usually mom who takes their child to the park or ice cream, but instead an art gallery. She wants to pass down the knowledge to her son, so Theo has the same education and interests as she does. She is a giver and she wants to give to her son.
I think it's easier for the audience to understand that his mom is dead because we don't really have much of a relationship with her. All we know about her is how she was this day and a few select moments from others so to us she's essentially a stranger. For Theo, however, that's his mom and pretty much his everything since his Dad left and even while his dad was home. His mom is his safe haven and since she always eases the pain from him he can't accept that she would just be gone like that. It's something anyone would do, you always think a certain situation can't happen to you and then when it does you go into a shock because you can't believe and you refuse to believe it. You hang on to that last bit of hope until there is absolutely no way you can deny it anymore and when the two child services agents came for Theo that's when he couldn't deny his mothers death anymore and it was that hope that kept him from accepting it.
When we come to the point in the book where Theodore's mother dies it is easy to suspect her death long before Theo even considers it a possibility. As readers we don't have a personal connection with Theodore's mother like he does and she is just a character in a book to us. To Theo she is his whole life and he doesn't want to imagine a world ever without her in it. He pushes that thought out of his mind and makes up every other excuse in the book as to why she hasn't returned home yet. As readers we can see that there is no sign of his mother and can infer that she has been killed in this horrific event. It is easier to see what is really happening from an outside perspective where you aren't emotionally involved in a situation.
Throughout the novel, Theo's relationship with his father is proven to be a very disfunctional one. Theo claims his father never wanted him around, which would be a good reason why Theo doesn't want social services to find him. His dad also treated his mom very poorly and abandoned them barely a year prior. His mother was the only person Theo could rely on, and his father is the last person he wanted taking care of him. Not only did Theo not like his dad, but he also didn't want to move away from the only place he ever knew and leave his memories with his mother behind.
Theodore doesn't really have a close relationship with his father. The fact that he wasn't that upset that his father left him and his mother informs us that he didn't care for his dad that much. Living with someone who was an alcoholic must of been tough and he felt some relief when his dad left for good. Theo's father left Theo and his mom all alone without any warning causing Theo's mother to provide for her son all on her own. With that burden on his mother's shoulders Theodore had to grow up faster and really grew to appreciate his mother and all she does to give him everything he needs. Due to Theo's father leaving Theo tries to be more respectful and helpful to his mother and not make anything more challenging on her part. He shows this when he narrates the book.
When Theo gets a call from family services he starts freaking out and his mind goes crazy thinking about his mother who is no where to be found. When the person on the phone asks to speak to his father he lies and says he's asleep when in reality his father left his mother and him a long time ago and is no where to be seen. Theo lied for a couple reasons. First, he wanted to hear what happened to his mother and where she was right away so he figured that if his father could not come to the phone that the worker would just tell Theo instead. Secondly, he lied about his dad being home because I think he knew he wasn't supposed to be alone in a house unaccompanied by an adult. He was scared they would send someone to come get him.
Mrs. Decker and Mr. Decker are complete opposites. When the narrator says that she always had conversations with doormen and he always was irritated by that, it shows how completely opposite they are; Mrs. Decker is open and lets the world in. She is not so focused on herself that she can't see the beautiful, interesting things around her. Mr. Decker on the other, is self-centered and uninterested in something pointless and time-consuming like a conversation with a person who is there only to serve him. His world revolves around him.
I think it's easier for us to piece together that his mother did not survive the bombing for several reasons. One is that we, as readers, were already told that this story would be about the death of his mother. So, unlike Theo's 8th grade self, we entered the day knowing exactly what to expect. Another is that we have an outside perspective on the situation. When you are an outsider as opposed to experiencing it first-hand, you have more of an emotional detachment from the situation. This detachment usually allows you to think in a more logical way, so we could have known before Theo because we were thinking about the situation logically, while he was, understandably, very attached and emotional. I think the fact that he is very new to the concept of death might have been the glimmer of hope that stopped him form believing what seemed inevitable. Since he is only 13, death is still a very distant and alien term to him. He heard it and understands it, but there is definitely a false-sense of invincibility that comes with being a teen. You feel as if nothing can hurt you or the others around. So when something does, you don't want to process it. Because doing so would admit that bad things can happen to the ones you care about, and it forces you to become very aware of your own mortality.
The narrator relationship with his father isn't close at all. They barely talked or shared a bond when they lived with each other. The narrator forever felt like a bother to his father. That's why when the father left he wasn't really affected by it, considering his father was an alcoholic it was sort of a relief. Theo is alone when the family services calls him asking about his fathers whereabouts. He obviously doesn't want to admit being all alone so he lies. He knows he isn't suppose to be alone at his age and that could get the caller off of the idea of his mom and more on the idea that he is alone. He lies because he has hope that his mom is out there and he deserves to know his father has nothing to do with it. Probably because their relationship was so rough he wasn't affected being alone without his father then. His mom was the most important thing on his mind. So when they brought up his father he didn't care he wanted to kn ow about his mom.
Theo calls the hotline for missing people repeatedly being concerned and bugging them wanting to know where his mother is. They usually sound annoyed or kept repeating they'd call when they figured things out. The call he got in return wasn't annoyed it was more concerning. She obviously wasn't all alright because they would have just said that on the phone. Instead they needed his father not a thirteen year old boy to hear the news. That lead me to believe that something went wrong and it was serious. Theo on the other hand didn't figure that out yet because he had hope. He cared for his mother so much the last thing on his mind was her being dead. He wanted her home, home with him. That's why he went home to wait for her. He was going to stay in denial until there was proof and someone said that she was gone.
When the family services agency calls, all that is on Theodore's mind is his mother's whereabouts. Theodore is in such a state of shock and is trying to deny the fact that this tragedy is going to affect his life more than he wants it to. Since his relationship with his father is so disconnected, he repeatedly lied about where his father was because all he wanted was to find his mother and bring her home.
Alprazolam, or Xanax, is prescribed for generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety associated with depression, and panic disorders. This is significant because Theo is currently in a situation that is causing him to panic and have anxiety. Theo doesn't want to admit that fact that his mother is dead, that's hard for him; but taking alprazolam to calm his nerves is easier.
Tartt sets up the story by having the narrator appear to be running from a crime, yet the narrator doesn’t seem like a criminal in any way. When it comes to narration, this has a paradoxical effect: is he a criminal, or isn’t he? The novel begins with the narrator reliving his memories of his mother on the day she died, and tells that he dreamed of her for the first time (in what he describes as many years) in Amsterdam. The stereotypical description of a criminal is someone who is cold, unforgiving, and detached from everything. While the narrator is wallowing in his old memories he is certainly detached, but he does not seem like the type of person who would commit a crime of any sort against another person: his mother was taken from him, and this has had an effect on every aspect of his life.
The importance of natures mortes is that you cannot hide from death. Even in youth, there are always hints and undertones of death in everything. That's how natures mortes are painted. They are beautiful, vivid, colorful pictures until you look closely and see a brown spot on a peach and a few flies buzzing around it that almost blend into the background, but not quite. I don't think natures mortes are supposed to depress people, though. They are supposed to wake you up and make you realize that nothing is forever.
At the end of the chapter, the reader knows but Theo doesn’t know that his mother is dead. From the very beginning of the chapter the narrator gave hits that Theo’s mother died in a terrible accident. The reader gets the understanding that Theo’s mother would run back into the building if she knew Theo was still inside. As the reader begins to understand the personality of Theo’s mother they realize at the end of the chapter that she had died. This is reveled in the last line of the chapter, “No matter how much sense it made, somehow I still couldn’t quite believe she had walked away from the museum without me” (Tartt 51). The reader understands that the mother is dead.
I agree with Olivia that Theo does not have a relationship or that his relationship is almost non-existing towards his father. Theo never really cared for his father because his father had never really cared for him and his mother. His father had left Theo and his mother to fend for themselves while he went to Las Vegas. Theo’s father had abandoned Theo and his mother, which causes Theo to feel like no one cares about him except his mother. This causes Theo to feel completely alone when his mother dies. Also, Theo’s relationship causes him to not have a proper male role model to look up to. He tends to get into trouble by hinting on an interest into drugs because his father is an addict.
Theo’s mother was a very kind, personal woman who didn’t see people based on their occupations, unlike Theo’s father. She would happily converse with anyone, like their doorman Goldie as Theo remembers April 10th, the day his mother died. Because Theo’s father was annoyed and bothered by her genuine interest in other people, this shows that he is a snobbish and impatient man who only believes he has time for people who are worthy of his time. He does not have time to waste on doormen and waitresses.
Alprazolam (also known as Xanex) is a drug that is prescribed to people with anxiety, depression, or panic disorders. This is significant to the novel, more specifically to Theo himself, because it shows that his mother’s death haunts him still, and that he uses the drug as an escape method to numb his pain. Theo wants to forget, and, since he can’t, he turns to the drug. Although he doesn’t want to accept that his mother is gone, even the strongest drug can’t erase the past. Also, I believe Theo is taking the drug because he wants to be happy someday with the reality that he is in, and not be stuck in the painful illusion of his past.
I think that the author, setting up the narrator as a criminal but contradicting that with his personality and actions leads us to think about what will happen in the future of this book. It makes us more suspicious of his intentions when he starts narrating the book. From his mother striking up conversations with everyday people, we can tell that she wasn’t raised rich and didn’t think anything of it. She was probably middle class growing up so she talks to them like she would a friend. The narrators father was probably raised in an upper class society where it’s frowned upon to speak to someone below you, because he’s so annoyed by this. I agree with what Jacob had said. that the readers know that Theo’s mother is dead because we don’t have a personal connection to block our view of reality unlike our narrator.
The negative behavior of the narrator displays the lack of ambition and lack of trust in other people. The narrator obviously cared about his mother but had a hard time of showing based on his personality. He would always ask her if she was ok and suggest things that would make it easier for her to deal with her illness. When they were in the taxi he noticed how sick she was going so he immediately told the driver to stop where they were and they would walk the rest of the way. Yet the narrator didn’t seem to be showing any emotion. The paintings foreshadowed his move to the Netherlands. The paintings displayed Dutch people in dark clothes which are how the story started talking about. How it was Christmas time but it was very dark and how people dressed up in dark clothes.
The narrator’s mother based on where she’s from and how she acts appears very kind and caring. She always stopped to talk to people like waitresses even though her husband did not like that whatsoever. She also seemed very ambitious to go after something she enjoyed by going into the art world. In his groggy state the narrator thinks he hears a phone go off. He heard it a few times and then he thought his mind was playing tricks on him because it seemed to constantly ringing. The significance of the constant ringing displays how he is searching for someone so he won’t be alone. His mother left to look at the art another time and he was left alone. Alprazolan is used to treat people with anxiety and panic disorder. I believe the significance of the narrator finding the drug is that he may need that drug now.
The reason that Theo repeatedly lies, is because he does not want to be taken away. He is trying to hold on to all that he has left of his mother. Theo can not let go of his life, his whole world, the only thing that he knows. The love that he has for his mother is the only love he knows and it is in the house that will be taken away from him. He will have nothing, and that is why he is so persistent in lying about his father, just so he can hold on to hope.
Knowing that the narrator’s mother talks to all doormen and random people lets us know that she is a nice friendly person, but could also let us know that she is very flamboyant, which would annoy the narrator’s dad and make him jealous. Alprazolam is prescribed for depression and anxiety which is significant depression of the bombing had a major effect on Theo’s emotions. The narrators relationship with his father is poor, which I think shapes him to be more of a “momma’s boy” and independent. When Theo gets the call from family services, he lies about his father because he doesn’t want him to know he is alone. It is easier for us to figure out that Theo’s mom is dead than for him because he doesn’t want to believe it.
Alprazolan is a drug that is prescribed for people that suffer from anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and anxiety caused by depression. It works by slowing down the movement of chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced. It is significant to the story because Theo takes it because it is the only thing that helps get his mind off of his mother and his deadbeat father. He also wants to take it to refresh himself and not remind him of his past.
The part of the bombing that reminded me of 9/11 was first the severity. The narrator speaks of bodies completely torn to shreds and others smashed by large pieces of debris. The scene as a whole is completely horrific and gruesome and given the setting of the story, as a reader, I automatically assumed the attack was part of 9/11. Another thing that made me believe it was 9/11 was simply the overall confusion. The crowd and the area was completely chaotic. Police officers were around pushing people and doing anything they could to calm everyone down. A similarity between the two attacks is the number. There were two bombs that went off in this attack and of course there were two planes in the infamous attacks of 9/11. A final similarity is the fact that the bombings and 9/11 are both terrorist attacks. The bombings in the book however were the works of home-grown terrorists, but rumors were circulating that it was the work of Al-Qaeda and of course Osama bin Laden.
The drug Alprazolen is a prescription drug for the treatment of anxiety and panic attacks, I feel as though this is significant because, as people have previously said, Theo takes it to help him forget, or take his mind off everything for a little while. Due to the traumatic experience, Theo struggles and this is what he is given to help him.
The narrator dreams of his mother most likely because of his situation. The narrator was lonely and so it only makes sense that his subconscious mind would be reaching out to his mother. Dreams have always been a mystery to man, and it has been thought that dreams reflect what you are internally struggling with. With his current loneliness I feel like the narrator was desperate for a source of comfort.
I believe the author sets the narrator up as a criminal in the beginning to make the reader question the narrator though out the entire novel. When the narrator focuses on the past there is no clear personality trait or way about him that would suggest criminal activity. The narrator's actions in the past contradicts the decisions he makes in the future. By the author already telling the reader in the beginning of the novel that the narrator has committed a crime, I believe he's trying to invite the reader to look further and try to find the reason why the narrator would commit a crime.
While searching for his mother, the narrator presents information in a choppy, disorganized sort of way. It is done in a way that you can get some sort of clue of what has happened without getting a completely clear picture. This tells us that the narrator's mind isn't how it normally is. He has a hard time processing what is going on around him and is having a hard time focusing. The fact that he didn't realize right away that his mom isn't with him shows just how out of sorts he really is.
Theo describes the scene of dismembered people with vivid description. And the remarkable thing is that Theo didn’t hold back with his descriptions. As most people would be sensitive in this scenario to the people lying dead on the floor, Theo told it how it was quite blatantly. I think this tells the reader Theo’s determination to find his mother. He seems to scrutinize the dead on the floor trying to pick up details to see if he could identify his mother. His lack of sympathy shows his determined state of mind.
At the end of the chapter, Theo says, “… I still couldn’t believe she had walked away from the museum without me.” At the moment, this may have brought Theo a sense of closure, but as the reader, it is obvious that his mother didn’t just walk away from the museum to meet him at home. Theo is seeing what he wants to see in this scenario. He walked through the smoked-filled rooms of the museum and evaluated the dismembered and bloody bodies, yet wants to believe his mother survived. His optimism is inspiring, but also tragic. The reader sympathizes with him because he can’t come to terms with reality.
I feel that the birthday scene was vivid to the narrator, not only because of its proximity to his mother's death, but also because it was one of the more happier moments that he shared with his mother. It was a significant scene in his memory where she was happy, and so was he.
When the narrator's mother reached out to the doorman, I think that it truly showed her character well. It takes a kind and courageous person to have that much regard for another person. Also, the fact that his father was annoyed by this shows the massive difference between the two characters.
Theo himself is dazed and probably feels bad for the old man. There's something inside him that holds him back because it's to sad to see the old man die by himself. It's almost like he thought is mother would have wanted him to be there. Maybe even deeper he believed it would help him find his mother if he helped the old man. I would say Theo just imagines her there, because she's always in the back of his mind when he's with the older man.
The negative behavior shown by the narrator shows that he isn't all sunflowers and daisies. However, I think that his concern for the consequences of such actions show that he truly does care (at least somewhat) for the well being of his mother.
The way that the narrator cares for his mother during the cab ride shows his feelings for his mother. He really did love her and care about her immensely.
Based on both of these things I think that the character is pretty average. He seems like a decent kid that just makes some risky and bad decisions. Overall I think that his heart is somewhat in the right place.
We already know by the end of the chapter that Theo's mother has passed away. As stated above, we have an outside look. We have to power to see the big picture and visualize all of the details. Theo is on the inside and he can only see what's going on directly around him as well as his thoughts, he tries to look for his mother but has no clue on how to get to her. I believe that on the back of his mind he suggests that she is gone, but would never allow himself to put that thought through his mind.
The narrator's relationship with his father is overall very poor. It is not the narrator's fault, but instead it is the dad's fault. His dad has a problem. He is an alcoholic who spends his paycheck drinking at the bar. The narrator and his father hardly speak and when he left, the narrator's recollection had a more relieved tone than sad. Such a man is tough to coexist with and because I have family members that suffer from addiction, I understand that it affects a child. The narrator is dependent on his mother and only having one parent is a struggle. This could be a direct cause as to why the narrator has been acting up and hanging out with the wrong crowd. There is a void in his life that he is desperatetly trying to fill.
Theo encounters many bodies while searching for his mother in the museum. He describes them very vividly, he seems to want to capture every detail, he doesn't sugarcoat any of what he saw. His description is very graphic, he was telling you exactly what he saw. The narrator describes exactly what he is looking for while looking through the bodies, he knew exactly what his mother had wore that day. Theo's state of mind is very clear while he is searching for his mother, he looks very closely at each body to make sure his mother was not among them.
The history of the narrator's mother shows that she was once ambitious. She wanted to get a doctorate in art history, but with the loss of the husband she wasn't able to pay for it with a child. Aside from this, she still was able to peruse a career in art, which definitely is not easy.
The paintings in the museum have very strong foreshadowing. His mother describes that they were made with much detail and that there was a small brown spot to symbolize death. This means that all good things must eventually pass, and that death is a part of life. This is significant because after this, the narrator loses his mother.
When Theo get's the call from the Family Service's Agency he repeatedly lies to them about his father's where-a-bout's. Theo lies to them repeatedly because he knew that someone would come and take him from his home due to his age, and the thought of that would make anyone panic, especially with the relatives (or lack of) he has. It is easier for the reader to figure out that Theo's mother is dead because the reader can accept the fact easier then Theo could. With everything that happened that day, for anyone it'd be very easy to block the thought out of their head entirely that their mother was dead and never coming home. Theo was able to block out the thought because of the emergency plan he made with his mom, their plan was if anything happened and they got separated, to meet at their house.
I also believed when I first was reading the beginning that the museum was a part of 9/11. The fact that they were in New York set me off right away. Then, during the description of the mess, it talked of nothing but smoke and plaster. When there was mention of fire, I assumed it was because the building was on fire. Also the fact that Theo was able to go through so many rooms, stair case in all, made me assume it was a pretty tall building. Once outside the way the police were yelling at pedestrians standing around, it made it seem as if everyone was shocked by the falling of the first twin tower and the fear that the second one could be the next target.
Chapter 1
The mother and father clearly do not have a good relationship. I think the bad relationship is mainly the father’s fault since right from the start he is portrayed as a bad person. I am also led to believe this based on how he doesn’t like the mother talking to other people. The mother likes to talk to doormen and waitresses because she is very friendly and enjoys making conversations with others. However, I think the father is very selfish and doesn’t care about anybody else. He doesn’t want to hear about other people’s lives. He only cares about himself. He is annoyed by the mother stopping to chat when he just wants to get on with his business.
The narrator handles his mother’s illness pretty well. You can tell right away that the narrator and his mother share a very special bond. Due to what they went through with the father, they can tell when one of them is upset. When the mother becomes ill, the narrator recognizes it quickly and creates a solution by getting out of the cab. The reason why I say he did a “pretty” good job is because as the novel carries on the narrator starts to care a little bit more about feeding himself than allowing his mother to rest. Overall, he handles the situation well.
Chapter 2
Theo and his father have a very bad relationship. His father is a miserable drunk that hates his life. Theo believes that his father was upset all the time because of him and his mother. Theo was constantly watching his every move so he wouldn’t make his father angry. Theo’s father didn’t care for Theo or his mother at all. He would come home from work and be extremely loud. He was also drunk all the time. I think having such a terrible father actually helped Theo, Theo had to grow up quicker than most kids. He had to learn how to deal with his father and how to protect his mother and himself. Theo had to become stronger despite not having a good father figure.
When the family services agency calls, Theo lies about his father’s whereabouts because he was so concerned about his mother. I think deep down Theo knows his mother is dead, but he doesn’t want to believe it. When he gets the call he becomes extremely scared. He lies about his father and dodges the questions just so he can get information about his mother.
I think it was obvious that Theo's mom wouldn't be at the apartment when he was there, but I can't think of anything else that he could have done instead of looking for her there. After all the vivid description of the old man being hurt, and even his own pain and injuries, I think it was shock that made him think his mother would have just went home without him. Of course I empathize with him; I probably would have done the exact same thing in his place, or maybe something even less productive, I don't know.
The narration almost feels like it puts a sorrowful tone to the story with how it is presented. To me the beginning feels like a monolog in an old private eye movie. It makes the reader think that if they were to leave now they might miss something for later.
Theo's mom talks to all the people like that because she was once just like them when she first came to New York, and she doesn't want to feel like she is above them. Theo's dad on the other hand already feels like he is above them and doesn't think he needs to talk with much more then he needs to.
Theos mom starts a conversation with the doorman because she is a kind person who cares for others. She does not judge others based on social status or occupation. Theos father on the other hand would often get mad when she did this due to the fact that he is selfish. His father is stuck up, judge mental and only has time for himself. The father had so little respect for others that he couldn't even stay to raise a family. He left leaving Theo without a father so that Theo would end up resenting him.
Theo's mother and father are two very different people. His mother will strike up conversation with doormen and waitresses; people who don't play a huge part in her life. This shows that Theo mother cared about what other people had to say, and their opinions that were attached to it. His father on the other hand didn't care about other people unless he could benefit from it in some way. Theo's father carried only about himself, he was a low life and acted as if everyone else was beneath him.
Theo's relationship with his father is poor and it really shows throughout the story. He doesn't really care for his father that much. Theo calls his dad "father" instead of "dad". His father is a deadbeat basically and doesn't really care for him. He'd rather be with his mother if she were still alive. He looked at his mother as perfect. His mom was always there for him. This relationship shows that he is more of a mommy's boy. It also shows that he can be self-reliant. He can live without his father.
Chapter 1
Alprazolam is prescribed for those who encounter anxiety disorders and panic attacks caused by depression, and is also referred to as Xanax. The reason this drug is so significant is because it shows that Theo is fighting depression after losing his mother and after already losing his dead-beat father once, does not know how to handle the whole situation. The medication described Theo following the bombing of his mother because he did not believe his mother actually had passed away. I feel sad when I think about the situation Theo is placed in because he lost the parent that loved him to a bomb and his father left him because he didn’t want him in the first place and it puts Theo in a situation of not actually having someone to comfort him like parents would.
Chapter 2
Theo’s relationship with his father is not existent because his father was not ready for a child in the first place. Whenever Theo was around his father it was rare that he was not in some sort of trouble to begin with. His father was not only not charismatic towards him, but an alcoholic; who tried to erase the fact that he had a son which could be a result of why Theo has such temper problems. Children typically are the products of their environment and when they have a bad example of a parent then they grow to accept that as being what life actually is. The type of attitude and character that his father shows affects and shapes Theo in a negative way. When his father left Theo and his mother it just exemplified the fact that he never really cared about them at all or choose to be the father figure every child should have. I feel bad for Theo because he only had his mother after his father left and after they became closer, he lost her too.
Theo returned back to the apartment to look for his mother because it's just what his mind first went to. I mean if you go home you know everyone in your family can find you eventually. I can definitely empathize with him I would do the same and probably one step to call them once I was home.
When the family services calls he repeatedly lies because he really doesn't care about his father whereabouts and he doesn't even like him in general. His relationship is already poor with his father so why not lie about it. He doesn't want to tell the truth because he knows if he does they will take him away. What motivates him to keep lying his loss of respect of his dad and the loss. Another thing that motivates him is his mother.
Theodore Decker was abandoned by his drunk of a father early on in his life. Even before his father left, Mrs. Decker made sure her son ate and did his homework, etc. After the explosion of the museum Theo goes home, expecting his mom to be there. We as the readers find it easier to figure out that his mom is dead due to the fact that all Theo saw coming out of the museum were dead bodies. Nobody was looking for him, or didn't seem worried about him at all. Theo making his way home after the bombing keeps on reminding himself to hurry up because his mom is going to get worried if he doesn't make it back to the apartment. Once at the apartment Theo tries to figure out why his mom isn't back yet. He keeps on making up excesses for himself to believe such as she had to go back to work, she got lost, etc. Theo does not believe that his mother is dead even after the Social Service people tell him. He is in too much of a shock to believe it. His only parental guardian is gone, dead.
Theo's father leaving only made the bond with his mother stronger, although it is not like Theo's father really cared about that anyway. It is easier for us to read about the death of Theo's mother because we had no emotional attachment to her. Theo really had no relationship with his father. Theo cannot even envision living with his father. He is in denial. Denial of what is happening and denial of what will happen. He even lies to the child services representative on the phone of the whereabouts of his father because he feels that it is not important. He cannot fathom that his mother is actually dead.
In any book at least the first few pages are dedicated to getting the story started. This book started with a young man who seems sweet but it in hiding as a "criminal". This forces the reader to be more intense while reading so they can pick up any clues as to why Theo is a fugitive. The uncertainty of the opening keeps the reader asking questions and overall more focused on the real traits of Theo.
I feel like when the explosion happens it reminds of the explosion in Mockingajy when they are in the Capitol that kills a certain person (not gonna say who because of spoilers, those that have read it will know). The book is good but it just doesn't have that excitement a reader wants before that happens. Afterwards everything goes down and the story picks up immensely. I don't know that's just my opinion.
"Why do you think he dreams of his mother in this situation?"
If "this situation" is the fact that Theo is alone in an apartment/hotel then it would make perfect sense for Theo to dream of his mother. The reasons his mind instantly drifts to her is because the last time he saw her was also the last time he felt so alone. He's stuck in a country where he doesn't know the tongue or any people so the barrier of the atmosphere he's in is as lonely as he was after the building collapsed (which was also the last time he saw his mother).
The bombing of the museum has many parallels to 9/11. Both created mass chaos and confusion for people. They also were acts of terrorism and both took place in New York. There were also things mentioned such as smoke and fire, which paints a picture of 9/11.
I think creating the aura of a criminal creates an intensity while reading. You want to know more about the character. You feel a desire to learn more about the story, and makes it hard to keep the book down.
It's much easier for us to see the truth that his mother is dead than it is for Theo because he doesn't want it to be true. His hope that his mom is somehow alive is clouding his view and putting him in denial. We don't have a personal relationship with her and limited attachment, which makes it obvious to us to see all of the clues pointing to her death, which is the reality. He is scared to imagine life without her, because she is his entire life. He knows if she is gone it will be devastating for him and he doesn't want to face it yet. Also, when he gets a call asking about his father'
s location, he lies for the same reason. He knows they will come take him out of his home if they find out he is living by himself so he denies that he is in an attempt to give his mom more time to get home. It's a very sad scene that shows a lot about Theo's character.
"What does the narrator’s handling of his mother’s illness tell you about him?"
Theo immediately notices his mother is not feeling well almost instantly even though she was already in an upset mood beforehand. This shows that Theo is really a perceptive person because most 13 year old boys don't have the awareness to think of another person. He also shows so much compassion for her by keeping his mouth shut when he's hungry but she wants to go into the museum. However his perceptiveness could also be taken in a completely different direction. Instead of overthinking the situation, Theo just might have been a 13 year old boy who's in trouble and knows his place isn't complaining about anything.
When theo received a call from the family service agencies he is compelled to lie about his fathers whereabouts because he doesn't want them knowing that he his home alone. Not only that, but he is still dealing with the reality that his mother may not come home, and he may be refusing to think about his fathers whereabouts when his mothers are unknown. By him misleading the Family Service agencies into thinking where is fathers current location is, he is safely securing himself, allowing him to stay in his own home longer in order to wait for his mothers homecoming.
Why do you think it is easier for us to figure out his mother is dead than it is for Theodore to figure out? What keeps him from figuring out what we knew or suspected long before the knock at the door?
There are always those few thoughts that are lurking in the back of our minds but they're kept in the deep chambers where not even we can find them. It seems so obvious to the reader that Theo's mother is dead but Theo is having a hard time accepting the fact. This somewhat has a correlation with the last book, how Theo is suffering hope. He hasn't officially heard that shes dead so until then he'll keep waiting even though, somewhere in his mind, he knows that she is dead. The knock at the door just ended his suffering of hope.
When Theodore gets the call from the family services agency, what motivates him to repeatedly lie about his father’s whereabouts?
It's obvious from the beginning that Theo has a deadbeat father whom Theo has no desire to see. Theo might have been forced to live with his bio-dad if not for the lies of his whereabouts. Living with his father would have raised angry questions of why he left and why he didn't come back. Overall, this was a situation that Theo wanted to avoid. We also learn the extent of Theo's disdain for his father by Theo choosing to be an orphan over a son.
Theo stays for such an intimate moment with the old man instead of looking for his mother for a few reasons that one can predict. Whilst Theo is looking through the ruble and the aftermath of the tragedy to which he survives, he is mainly looking for anyone that may still be alive. When he finally stumbles across the only living person he can find, its natural that he will be naturally intrigued. It is quite possible that Theo could be seeing and somewhat communicating with his mothers spirit, but of course its also very possible he could be imagining it. Theo did also experience a head injury. As a result of that injury, he could be hallucinating the moment. Sometimes when people are distressed or dealing with something horrific, they will think about something or someone that comforts them. And for theo, this is most obviously his mother.
I would characterize the narrators relationship with his father to be an abusive and slightly destructive one. Theo is obviously taking mental notes of how his father treats his mother. This is why Theo is closest to and understands his mother better. The relationship shapes Theo into being a stronger person who is more deceptive of what is going on around himw. This will help Theo to better understand the adult world by allowing him to form opinions on relationships that will surround him in the future. This will make him a stronger individual who will be able to handle his future relationships as well.
When theo returns to the apartment it is only completely natural for him to immediately start searching for his mother, because he is distressed over her current whereabouts. Given the fact that he is in a situation that to most people would feel great anxiety and panic, he is doing well to keep calm. But instead of just searching the apartment, one would also call all local hospitals as well as police stations that may have any information on her. But one does understand his unwillingness to do so in fear of receiving any dreadful news.
Theo's mother likes to talk to random people like waitresses and doormen do. This shows that she genuinely cares about other people, even complete strangers. She is kind and actually cares about people's feelings. His father is the complete opposite. He has no interest in the lives of other people. He thinks doormen and waitresses aren't worth more than their service to him, and doesn't see them as real people. Theo's parents are very different people, and his mother seems to be a much better parent than his father.
Theo has been home for several hours by the time family services calls to speak with an adult present in the house, specifically Theo's dad. There's a saying that goes, "there's no good time for bad news," and I think that's what Theo was experiencing. He knew if family services was calling, something must have happened to his mom and at the moment lying about his father's whereabouts was easier than facing reality. By putting off the phone call Theo could pretend his mother was okay, even if in the back of his mind he knew she wasn't. I think with him being so intelligent, he also realized that if his mother was in fact killed in the bombing he would have to move out of his house. If it were me in that situation, I would've taken as much time as possible just to take in the familiarity of the home before it was taken from me; something I imagined Theo doing as well.
Throughout the novel, Theo's relationship with his father proves to be very poor. Theo talks about his father abandoning him and how his father did not care. Although Theo does not have a good relationship with his father, he does with his mother. Theo then lies about his father's whereabouts to ensure his own safety, and to hide the fact that he is home by himself. Theo lies so that he is not taken away by child services, and to hold onto the only thing that he has left-his mothers love. He lies until she comes home (still in denial that she has passed).
Theo's mother always strikes up random conversations with people such as doormen and waitresses. When she does this it is easy to infer that she is a very outgoing person. Also it shows that she is a big people person who not only likes to talk to people, but also cares about them. Her care for people is shown through her son Theo. She appreciates all types of people and believes that everyone has a purpose to fulfill. However, Theo's dad is very different from his mom. His father doesn't care about other people. He only cares for himself. This shows that his father is selfish and has no consideration of peoples feelings unlike his mother.
It is easier to figure out his mother is dead because of past books we have read, as well as when the time gets later on in the day when she isn't coming home. What keeps Theo from figuring out his dead is because he thinks his mom is worried about him not coming home when he hasn't realized it should be the other way around. Theo lies to the family services agency about his father is so he doesn't have to live with him. He realizes that his father will not treat him well if he goes off to live with him. To me the bomb didn't seem related to 9/11. There was technology today like iPhones in the book and I know there weren't any iPhones in 2001. The bomb blast is similar to 9/11 because the description of the blown-up building resembled the wreckage of the Twin Towers. Theo's mother striking conversations with doormen and waitresses is because she care for their well being. It is her personality where she is outgoing and likes to be friendly. Theo's father seems to be more reserved and an anti-social. He doesn't do well with other people.
I like the beginning of the story because it already creates suspense from the start. It seems as if the narrator is a criminal because he is running away from a crime that appears to be centered around the narrator. Later on it shows that the narrator is actually not a criminal in any way. The effect on the narration becomes confusing because the reader doesn't know what to make of the narrator. There is not a lot of information given about the narrator in the first chapter. This means that the reader has to read more in order to figure out more about the narrator. The author wanted to grab the reader's attention right way which she did.
There basically is no relationship with Theo and his father. This is because there is no form of connection between them. Also this means that there is no form of interaction between them. Theo states that his father abandoned him and his mother. His father never cared for his family and therefore should have never had one. Because of this, Theo wanted to become closer to his mother in order to have at least one parent figure in his life. His mother cared for her son and they were able to have a healthy relationship together. It's good that Theo didn't let his father's abandonment get to him. He could've just thought that since father didn't want him why would his mother want him? However, he thought that since he already lost his father he was not going to lose his mother. This makes Theo into a stronger person because he is more able to cope with loss.
Theo staying with the old man for a moment was really touching. I think that caring for strangers is a learned habit for Theo. Theo's mother always took the time to strike up conversations with strangers due to her kind, patient, and curious nature. In that moment, Theo was shaken up and confused. That's when his nurture kicked in and he decided to stay with that old man for just a little while. I don't imagine that his mother's spirit came into his body and did a good deed or anything like that, but I do believe that what she instilled in him caused Theo to act that way. It's interesting that the first moment that she wasn't in the world with him was the first moment he had to choose to care for a stranger.
The narrators mother always strikes up with people such as doormen and waitresses. This just shows her caring spirit and how she is actually interested in other people. She always wants to know what's going on in others lives. Also his father being annoyed shows how he's the opposite of his wife. He could care less of what's going on and would rather keep to himself. Also all of his mothers jobs show she did what she could to get by and go to college.
The narrators relationship with his father is more or less horrible. He is taught to stay away when he is home and not to make a noise. He's told the sound of his voice annoys him. I feel like this made the character mostly dependent on his mother which I feel would make him more susceptible to hang out with the wrong people.
Theo never really had a true father son relationship with his dad. Theo's father never cared about Theo or his wife. Theo's dad would leave and not come back till morning, he would drink a lot, and he would just sit around when he was actually home. When Theo's dad finally left, Theo and his mother were actually better off.
I think that Theo appearing to be on the run from crime shows the affect that he is all alone and isolated. This makes the narration have a lot more suspense for the reader. The reader at this point in the story can already tell that he is not a criminal, but the author was trying to grab the attention of the reader right from the start. This makes the narration a bit confusing at first.
The memory of the birthday scene was so vivid and important to him because his mother was important to him. He lost everything when she died. All the happiness they shared that night was lost when he lost her. He remembers it so vividly I feel because his mother soon died after. Its important because that's one memory he can hold onto his whole life. I feel like if anyone died that was family and even if it was a memory from a month ago but you shared happiness it would be so vivid to that person.
Theo dreams of his mother because he obviously misses her. The quote "At the sight of her I was paralyzed with happiness," shows how much he loved seeing her. He had a fever, so he was feeling ill at the time. When he was feeling sick, he wished to see his mom, so she appeared in his dreams so he could "see" her yet again. This is quite sad and tragic, because he cannot even in his dream look directly in her eyes, because it would violate the rules both of their worlds.
The memory of the birthday scene is so vivid because it was right before his mother died. Other than that, however, it was so important to Theo because it showed the affect his mother had on him and on other people, ordinary people. Her smile at the sight of just a normal birthday cake and candle lit dinner lit up the entire room. Sure it wasn't such a great, outstanding memory, but any time he had with her was special because of the great woman she must have been.
When I began to read I thought the Theo was locked away. But yet the author made him seemed like he was hiding from crime when he says he was locked in his hotel room and afraid to telephone anyone. But looking back on it he's alone like Bryce said. After everything that happens once we find out reading on, you see that his mother dies and his father abandoned him and his mother. He misses his mother but feels like he has no one. He later says that he can never find anyone like his mother that made him feel so loved. The effect that it has on the narration is it pulls you in to think one thing but really it can be totally different in the end.
The narrator basically had no relationship with his father. For the first few years of his life, whole he was still around, he was never really there. He always had to work late nights and would never have family dinners with them or go to school functions or play with him. He really never had a dad, so when he took off to "start a new life" he claimed to not miss him much. Although deep down it is very sad, this could shape the narrator's life in that he becomes a tougher man because of this. He knows what it is like to never have a father growing up, so when he becomes a father himself, he will know how important it is to be there for your child. Having no relationship with your father is one of the worst things that could happen to you. But from my own experiences, I can say that it will help shape him into more of a man.
Theo's mother and father behaviors are different. Theo's mother cares for people and loves the little things in life. she treats everyone like human beings. On the other hand Theo's father is arrogant. That he doesn't give the time and day to people he feels are below him. Being proven when he just abandoned his family. Theo's mother is a loving person who looks forward to those conversations. As you can tell Theo's father is a bitter person and only worries about his own needs.
Beyond just the bare facts, Theo's mother as a person seemed like a wonderful, joyous woman. She was a decent human being, despite having a husband who seemed to not care at all and be an arrogant jerk. She had to constantly put up with him being a bad husband and father. When he left her and their son, she stepped up into the role of being a mother and father all in one. It takes a great person to be able to do that. She was always caring and truly cared about other people and their interests. She was a people person.
Theo could tell his mother was ill even past the bad mood she was already in. To me it shows he can read people pretty well. This is something most 13 year olds can't say including myself. I personally wouldn't have ever noticed something like that which may prove useful to Theo.
I agree with Melanie that Theo's mother had influenced him enough in life to be the reason he stayed with the elderly man while he could've been searching for his mother. I do believe that he imagined her at the scene, though. His relationship with his mother was definitely the most impacting one in his life as of yet, especially because they understood the effects of Theo's father on their life. Theo and his father's relationship was basically nonexistent. He just had to read his moods, avoid him most of the time, and not make any noise while he was at home. This was less of a relationship and more of an obligation to both of them, in my opinion. When we suspected Theo's mother's death, we could realize it but he couldn't because she was the strongest support system in his life. Without her, his life would change drastically, and he didn't want to admit that that was happening.
Theo's relationship with his father is basically no relationship at all. It's obvious that the he didn't really care for Theo, nor Theo's mom. She was a very kind and sociable person unlike the father. He was annoyed with her opposite characteristics. He didn't want her or Theo around.
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