Reply To: TRWR: Discuss the theme of innocence throughout the novel
I love what you both wrote, Jane and Nancy. It’s in keeping with what I thought about Scott and Del’s coming of age. Scott primarily has women as his caregivers and they protect him and nurture him. As a result, he is a decent and respectful person with an open mind and curiosity about the adults around him. His interactions with Felix and Noah give him a different perspective on men who have been in the war from what he’s seen in the movie theatre and how he imagines his father might have been. I think they give him a view into the adult world and the complexities and pain of it.
Del, on the other hand, has grown up in a broken home, one that is the opposite of nurturing. Booze, violence, and violating others are lessons he learns. Scott is a good influence on him, but Del pulls him into his violent world. Creasy isn’t the only father inflicting harm on his kids as we later discover Fiona and Colleen have also been harmed. And Angie has experienced violence in her family too. Violence takes away innocence – it is the common thread throughout the book whether it be at the hands of family or society at large.
Noah Bluestone, being Native American, experiences societal violence his entire life and lives with the knowledge that that violence has preceded him for generations. So he can’t afford to be naive or innocent. It’s interesting to note that Tom tells Brody that no one saw him as being “Indian” when he helped the football team win. So the prejudice recedes when he is of benefit to them, but comes back when Jewel residents are looking for a scapegoat and to vent their pain and frustrations. I think Noah’s military career mirrors this same attitude – that the military is fine with him when he is of use to them, but when he marries Kyoko , he is no longer seen in the same light (just as when he cuts his hair in mourning in high school) and therefore is rejected because he is not conforming to what they want from him.
I think it’s telling that Del goes into the army and is KIA. Scott goes into law to help others and seek justice, much like Charlie.
