This Boys Life by Tobias Wolf - Book Report/Review Example

The Boy’s Life In MLA Style 2 Thesis This Boy’s Life is an autobiography of Tobias Wolff, alsoknown as Jack in his memoirs of his youth. Tobias, or Jack, as he prefers to be called as when he was young, practically spent his youth moving from one place to another with his mom, Rosemary. Tagging along with his mom when looking for something to do for a living or looking for some place else to stay made him gets exposed to the realities of life at an early age. Being abandoned by his father, with his older brother Geoffrey, Jack, together with his mom, poorly lives a life of financial constraints. His mom’s thirst for a family, a husband and a father figure for Jack in that respect, brings them a life full of adjustments especially that his mom has quite a bad taste for a man. This paper discusses the issues Jack faces in the early years of his youth and how each event has affected his being that results to his early development as an adult. This brings forth the effects of the maltreatment he has experienced with his stepfather, his mom’s inadequacy, his father’s abandonment and the failed promises and the people he has mingled with. A Father’s Abandonment Jack grew up without a father since his biological dad left him with his mom as a baby. Growing without a father figure, Jack had to learn some things on his own. Although he had him mom, there were things that he had to figure out himself that only a father can help a son with. “Most afternoons, I’d wander around in trance. Sometimes I go downtown and store at the Last Name 3 merchandize. Maybe I’d shoplift, maybe not. I used to imagine I saw my father coming toward me. I’d wait for him to recognize me. I knew it couldn’t be him though, he was living back East married to a rich woman. His nickname was Duke and that’s how I thought of him, as a Duke, living in a castle far away. A few minutes later, I’d pick up someone else.” (Wolff, 1989, Capter One, Part 2) As a young boy, he needed a father to look up to as a role model but due to absence of one, no father gave him guidance as a kid. There are things that a father gives a son that cannot be substituted by a mother. This resulted to Jack’s indecent selection of people to hang out with. He had to skip youth quickly, although maybe unknowingly, in order to keep up with his friends who had a father figure whom they look up to. “I was subject to fits of feeling myself unworthy…. It didnt take much to bring this sensation to life, along with the certainty that everybody but my mother saw through me and did not like what they saw.” (Wolff, 1989, Part One Chapter 2) Jack’s enduring feelings of unworthiness and guilt in Part One, Chapter 2 explains that he is guilty of the things he does but the novel shows the involvement of his father’s abandonment contributed to this. According to James Dobson, a parenting expert, boys without fathers experience difficulties identifying themselves and shaping their values as kids. Without a role model to follow, it is tough for young boys to nurture themselves without guidance from a father. Kids without the presence of a father have more tendencies of straying away from the right path. (Dobson, 2001, 27) A Mother’s Shortcoming Jack mother, Rosemary, had a few boyfriends after his father left them. With no support coming from his father at all, his mother resulted to hopping from one guy to another to look a father figure Jack never had. Although the initial reason maybe for companionship, his mother had Last Name 4 always considered somebody who can be a good influence to her son. But due to her bad taste with men, as how Jack called it, they had to move from one place to another just to get rid of her boyfriends. “My mom had her own way of solving problems, she left them behind.” (Wolff, 1989, Part One, Chapter 1) Caused by financial constraints, his mother had to look for jobs in order for them to survive. But no matter how much his mom tried to give him a good life, it was never enough. Jack became aware of the realities of life at an early age, which contributed to his early maturity. As a kid, he tagged along with his mom and travelled a few states as they had a few relocations during his youth. Jack’s early understanding of life made him want to help his mom as early and as quickly as he can. He felt guilty for not being able to help his mom in many aspects of their lives. “Wow, a Winchester 22!” (Wolff, 1989, Part One, Chapter 3) Jack is powerless to protect his mom, as well as himself, due to his age. With the gift from Roy, his mom’s boyfriend, he felt a certain authority that made him feel on top of everything. His incapability of becoming a hero by bailing them out of poverty and unhappiness contributed to his wild imaginings. He dreamt of being with his older brother, Geoffrey, going to the same school as scholars and living a life of abundance. In these dreams, Jack became an escapist from the reality which could have also contributed to his ill selection of friends. He ignored reality and enjoyed fabricating heroic acts in order to find some level of comfort. He felt at some point that his existence was a burden for his mom that hindered her to live a happy life. Parenting is never easy but becoming a single parent makes it more difficult. Raising a kid alone is not as easy as taking care of a dog to be give you company when you are alone. This makes is even harder if you are a single mother raising a young boy. Boys need a father figure, which goes Last Name 5 the same with girls needing a mother figure to follow. (Dobson, 2001, 58) Betrayal Throughout Jack memoirs of his youth, it is keenly observed that betrayal is an overall atmosphere in the novel. From Jack’s childhood, he was betrayed by his father by leaving him and his mom and taking his older brother with him. Although he made excuses for his father, he knew at an early age that it was not his mother’s fault why his father left. It was not elaborated in either the book or the film; it was a hint to the readers and viewers in one of his scenes with his mother when he said sorry for saying that it was her fault why his father left them. “If you cared anything about me, you would’ve stayed married to dad.” (Wolff, 1989, Part One, Chapter 2) Due to lack of somebody to blame for their unhappy situation and feeling of being betrayed, he had to blame someone and his mother was there. Although he knew that it wasn’t his mom’s fault that his dad left them, he blamed her. Jack’s apology and the way he said it, with the sorry look in his face, was a sign that he knew his mother was not at fault and he just couldn’t bare the fact that his father was the one responsible for their poverty and unhappiness. Betrayal was also present in their life with Dwight, the longest and the most evident father-figure Jack ever had. At first, Dwight was seemingly an eye candy to his mother and to some people that instantly caught his mother’s interest on Dwight. Although it was not as quickly as it was with Jack, he also fell into the trap of Dwight. The image Dwight portrayed at first was quite fascinating, which lured his mom to finally marrying Dwight. But before the marriage, his mother sent Jack to live with Dwight for some time after getting into some troubles at school. Jack’s realization of the real Dwight arrived during his car ride with the latter on their way to Dwight’s house. He knew then that it won’t be a care-free life he will be facing, together with his mom, with Dwight. But with all the betrayal he recognized around him, a realization of self-betrayal didn’t occur to Jack. “Fucked her ‘till her nose bled.”(Wolff, 1989, Part Two, Chapter 1) His ill selection of friends surely didn’t make it easy for him to bring himself closer to his dreams. Tagging along with his “so called” friends brought him more issues at school and with his mom. A Father…Figure Dwight, as what has been mentioned in the previous texts, was the only strong and dominant father figure Jack ever had in his life. Although he still dreamt of being with his father, he more or less accepted the fact that the only person who came close to a father was Dwight. It was not His relationship with Dwight didn’t really go so well, especially towards the end that Dwight was just showing Jack who the real boss was. Due to Dwight’s insecurities and failed dreams, he made Jack’s life a living hell that helped grow Jack’s intentions of escaping Dwight. According to studies, growing up without a father figure can be destructive for a young boy, but growing up with a destructive father figure is worse than having no father at all. (Dobson, 2001, 126) When she was worried she wore a pale, tight-lipped mask…. Now the mask was gone. She looked young and pretty… As we walked we made plans…. We were ourselves again—restless, scheming, poised for flight. (Wolff, 1989, Part Five, Chapter 2) This explains the bond between Jack and his mother showing that they know they only have each other. Being able to think for his mom that she can leave Dwight showed that Jack has grown up quickly, capable of making tough decisions. His tagging along and making plans with his mom at an early age made led him to his quick development. Conclusion Just like any other kids who have experienced what Jack experienced as a young boy, is confusion will be a major issue. In Jack’s case, he was able to handle his youth, but skipped some parts and immediately jumped into being an adult. The circumstances he had undergone during his early years all contributed, one way or the other to his early development. The father’s abandonment, his mother’s shortcomings, the betrayal, the father figure, the running away, the moving from one place to another, the wild imaginings, the dreams, all contributed one way or another to his maturity and to our Tobias Wolff today. Works Cited Wolff, Tobias. This Boys Life: A Memoir. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989. Print. Dobson, James C. Bringing Up Boys. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001. Print. Read More