Paul’s eagerness to step in and fill his father’s shoes in the hopes of acquiring his mother’s love and approval ultimately leads to his death. Paul often wonders about the whispers in the house and questions his mother about their financial status. His mother incriminates his father bitterly and says to Paul: “it’s because your father has no luck”. Upon learning that his mother is no satisfied with his father’s “luck”, Paul feels the need to compensate for it, furthermore attempting to obtain all that he desperately wants: motherly love and attention. However, when the boy tries to convince his mother that he has “luck”, she diminishes his remarks which leads him to observe the following: “the boy saw that she did not believe him; or rather
