Richard Russo Term Paper

10 Pages 2605 Words

en find themselves in trouble for things that are just common sense to them, such as when Harry, the owner of the diner in “Mohawk,” is ridiculed for being nice to Wild Bill even though everyone else treats him badly. Thus each fit into their niche of society by being misunderstood and following their own views and getting themselves into trouble with those who see things from a different perspective.
Dallas Younger is a divorced, middle aged man who reached the peak of his life in high school. He was considered the most handsome guy, played baseball, and even had his own place and a car. He was the rebellious guy who had all sorts of rumors going on about him, which made him all the more attractive to the local girls. He married a girl named Anne, who was the daughter of Mather Grouse, a local man who has lived past his prime, achieved as much as he believes he is going to and is just waiting for death, and fathered a son named Randall. Then, because he never grew up and became responsible, Anne divorced him. He wishes that he could gain Anne’s love back, but also knows he’s already messed up too much for that. He lives on his own in a small, cluttered apartment and his only social life is going out and getting smashed at the local bar, and keeping his brother’s widow and her daughter company. He is a very good example of a single guy, who could have had a decent life, but ended up alone with no ambition, just living the same old life each day. People see him as a loser and someone who doesn’t care about anything, but he does care and can’t figure out how to stop losing. His problem with drinking makes it so that even when he has good intentions he usually ends up messing something up and he has fallen into the trap of drinking because he is unhappy and just getting more unhappy because he drinks. “When the bars are closing and people are forced to consider the prospect of returning home with so many of the night’s...