Characters intro and commence

A read another good section in This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff again this week. This section was the last of the intro of the book. Toby, now Jack, and his mother are settling into their new Utah apartment. Jack's mom gets a job as a secretary. Then Roy is introduced. No reason is given as to why Roy follows the two around all the time. He is around the mothers age and obviously loves her so I guess theirs you reason. He is described and turns out to be a good person who, is classically, a little rough around the edge, "He always seemed deep in thought, staring at the road through mirrored sunglasses. He had a tattoo and had been to war and kept a kind of silence about it that was full of heroic implication" (30). Roy seems like a powerful character. He has many little things about him that make him unique and interesting to read about. For instance, "He could fix the Jeep if he had to, though he preferred to drive halfway across Utah to a mechanic he'd heard about from some loudmouth in a bar." This seems like something I will do when I get my own car. Though I want to be able to fix it when I need to as well. Roy is a character I feel like I can relate to and he eases the tension of the family's situation by being an overprotective boyfriend. "He followed her home every day, idling down the street, pulling into a driveway here and there to let her get ahead." Once again seems like something I'd do once I have my car.

The main character Jack, whose point of view the story is told, goes through some childhood events that I can see in my own life. He attends church classes. He's catholic so confession is common. Being young Jack has never had a confession. He fails his first attempt and is convinced to go later. Sister James, his leading nun, gives him cookies and tries to help him. She tells him about her own sins. Next thing Jack does is go into the confession room and confess to the same sins. I found the irony quite humorous. Jack lies to the priest in confession. It amazes me how even in a true story the hilarious and ironic tails of childhood are there. They happen all the time. The next thing I noticed about Jack was a realization he made. I don't remember any age being given but I know he's early teens. While Sister James gives him Oreo's to sooth his tense soul, "But now, forced to look at Sister James across the narrow space of this gleaming table-I saw her differently. I saw an anxious woman of my mother's age who wanted to help me without knowing what kind of help I needed. Her good will worked strongly on me. I would have surrendered to her if I only knew how" (33). I can remember these same revalations from my childhood too. Adults are actual people!