Ashton Post #2

Family mannerisms greatly influence who a person is and how they interact with others, but also have the ability to change who a person is and limit them in their everyday lives. Jack's mother's tough love funds his sarcastic and unconfident persona. When Jack's father disappears, his family dynamic drastically changes, and his mother's non-nurturing nature only adds to his feelings of despair and lack of self worth. When Jack asks about his father's absence, he is given an unemotional answer that is less than satisfactory and leaves a gaping hole in his world. "'Is he dead?' I asked, 'will he have a funeral?' 'No,' she said, 'he isn't dead. He has gone away, but you can think of him like he was dead, son' (p. 160). This would be extremely traumatic and unsettling for anybody, but especially for Jack who is already somewhat of an eggshell soul, fragile, and ready to crack apart at any moment. It isn't so much the actual scenario that is unsettling, but rather the insufficient conclusion or closure that will plague him indefinitely. Jack has no choice but to accept the situation and move on. Trying to provide some stability he says, "I love you, Mother... I'll love you always" (p. 160). She accepts this and holds him, but soon shushes him quiet and sends him to Connecticut and to go across the ocean. This is a kind of love that can sometimes do great things for certain people. Some people need the extra nudge, structure or hard exterior parent who never bends or breaks. But Jack takes everything so seriously and to heart, that he begins to become uptight and almost fearful of who he is next to others and starts looking at them as successful instead of looking at himself. "Then there was the Young Executive, who had been a Young Executive from the day his mother gave the last push and would be Young Executive until the day they drained out the blood, which would be the color of Lavoris, and pumped in the embalming fluid" (p. 161). Whether it be the Tycoon, the Count, or the Young Executive, Jack would be insecure around all of them because of his mother. He knows deep inside that he is scared and unwilling to fight feelings of fear and accept some defeat. He even says, "I  was the thing that always came back" (p. 161). One has to wonder how Jack would be if his mother hadn't had such a tight grasp on him. What would he think of others? How would he react to them? Would he still take things seriously but in a good way? It's something that one never knows, as the foundation for any family is rooted in a child from the start. It is how the child responds and perceives it, that shapes them into who they are and what they do. In Jack's case, a tight grasp wasn't inconvenient, it limited him and created fear that he now lives with forever.