This Boys Life Essay Example

This Boys Life Essay Example This Boys Life Essay This Boys Life Essay This Boys Life, by Tobias Wolff is an autobiography, which shows the young Tobiass struggle to grow up in a dysfunctional family. Deception, Disguise and illusion are the weapons the young Tobias Wolff has to adopt in order to get along in his life. This Boys Life starts on the road from Florida to Utah when Wolff and his mother are trying to escape the grasp of her violent boyfriend Roy. To get away from a man my mother was afraid of They Drive to Utah and expect to get rich on uranium but when they got there they discovered all the uranium that was to be found had been. They then ventured on until they got to Salt Lake City where his mothered figured there must be some ore around there. Although no one had ever found uranium in Salt Lake City, she did not take this as a deterrent, in fact she took it as more reason to go. The fact that nobody had found any meant that we would have the place pretty much to ourselves. This is when we first experience his mothers optimistic view on most issues. If she wants it badly enough, she will do anything she can to get it and no facts or stories can make her change her mind. They got to Salt Lake City. They found no uranium. What they did find was Roy. Yet again, they leave in a hurry to escape Roy. This time escaping to Seattle. They lived in Seattle, and Wolff enjoys his stay there. Roy does not find them, to rosemary and Wolffs delight. Now in Seattle Wolff has a new enemy, Marion. Marion sees straight through Wolff and can tell his kind a mile away. The dislike is mutual though, because Wolff is not too keen on her, but is scared of her: Her arms were as thick as a mans Marian was constantly trying to get rid of Wolff, and that meant getting rid of his mother as well, although she did not dislike Wolffs mother, although she did pity her, mainly for being so trusting of the Toby she knows. Marian finally got her wish when Dwight stepped in. Loving, caring and very trusting, Rosemary, at a glance, seems like the perfect mother. However, once studied we realize she is far from the perfect mother. Although she is very loving, her ability to love Wolff does not match her ability to control him. This lack of control over Wolff is a result of her own childhood abuse from daddy which got so bad that he even spanked Rosemary for no reason but to satisfy his own need for power. Daddy spanked her almost every night on the theory that she must have done something wrong that day As well as her violent upbringing giving her a contradictory hatred of coercion, it also influenced her choice of men. Rosemary had been a victim all her childhood life, which meant she had to be victimized by someone in her adult life to compensate for daddy. This need made rosemary prone to men of the tyrant breed. Although Rosemary did in fact fail to be a good mother to Wolff he obviously loved her and the way in which she is portrayed in this novel reflects the love he still has for her, though even he knows she failed him. And then came Dwight. This Quote really sums up Wolffs attitude towards Dwight. Dwight on the outside seemed respectable, romantic and a very father-like figure, but as soon as he has his foot in the door we discover the real Dwight. This being a man of spite, jealousy and most of all power. This need for power results In Wolff being brutal beaten for no reason but for Dwights own amusement, as Rosemary was with her own father. As soon as Wolff arrived in Chinook the violence started. The first time we realise Dwight is not who he seems is on Wolffs way to Chinook Youre in for a change, mister. You got that? Youre in for a whole nother ball game This change Wolff has to circum to happens, but not because Wolff is willing. Once in Chinook, Dwight gets to work on re-shaping Wolff. This re-shaping meant filling up Wolffs time so that he had no time to carry on his delinquency, which was very prominent in his life in Seattle. Although Dwight was very strict on Wolff about minor things of no importance. On the major events, such as fighting, Dwight was very much in favour of Wolffs actions and even tried to help Wolff. I can show you a couple of moves that will show little lord Gayle wondering what month hes in Although at times worrying, Tobias Wolff as a main character makes for a very interesting read. He is ever changing and so badly wants to be someone other than himself he goes to the extreme length of changing his name. Wolff is a very two-faced charachter. In his mothers eyes he is the perfect son, but in the eyes of anyone other than his mother, he is a liar, a cheat, a thief and an all round delinquent. As well as these traits he also has a very contradictory love of Power. Whilst reading this novel we would tend to think Wolff would hate the thought of power, but as his grandfather before him, he enjoys the feeling of power and as a result he worrying respects the nazis because of their snappy uniforms as well as their ability to control, they wanted to be as powerful as the nazis. looked up people with Jewish-sounding names and screamed at them in pig German Wolff wanting to compel respect was the main reason he enjoyed scouting so much. Wolff was a keen scout, and although made to scout as punishment from Dwight, he loved scouting. He loved the power scouts had over people with their sharp uniforms and he loved the way being a scout made him feel like a soldier. On the other side Wolff was everything he did not truly want to be. He was always searching for someone he could trust and never found that someone during his adolescent life. Wolff believed he was an intelligent person capable of grade As, though his need to be cool was the only reason he only achieved grade Cs. I lived in perpetual Dusk is the statement that I believe sums up Wolffs adolescent life, and in a way, it is a very saddening thing to be said about a young boy. In my opinion Wolff, although a delinquent at the beginning of the novel, proved himself of the virtues he claimed to have in the end when he tries to be who he truly is by going to private school via a scholarship. But like everything else in his life, that falls through as well. This Boys Life is an autobiography told in a very frank, unforgiving voice. This novel presents us with very complex charachters that echo our real life experiences. No excuses are given for actions taken as a child by Tobias Wolff. The man can give no help to the boy The narrative style of the novel works very well with the elements that we face inside the novel. This works because the Novel is not written in chronological order and the adult Wolff gives many statements telling us how these events have affected his life throughout his life. Also the way in which Wolff has spent time considering the different sections of his life to report on and what to call these sections has a great affect on the overall readability of this novel. This Boys Life is a novel that leaves us with a sense of relief. Mainly relief that we dont have as many family problems as Wolff but also relief that now we know what not to do with our lives, and that we should be seen as we see ourselves and not to be seen as others want us to be. This boys life is a very well crafted novel and I would seriously recommend it to anyone between the ages of ten and sixteen as it really touches the heart with the issues that it raises.