Analysis Of This Boy's Life By Tobias Wolff

This Boy’s Life is a memoir written by Tobias Wolff. It describes his childhood, like how he changed his name to Jack. When Jack was young he often changed households until they finally ended up with Dwight. This might have an effect on his morality, or at least his morality as a child. Throughout the novel Jack acts like an egoist as his actions are done to benefit himself in some way. Jack is still fighting Arthur even after rolling down the hill that led to the bank they are currently standing on. Pepper, Arthur’s dog, had gone down the hill with the two boys and is yapping and lunging at Jack. Jack, feeling awful about the way Pepper is reacting to him, thinks, “It wounded my spirit to have a dog against me. I liked dogs. [...] I expected them to like me back” (Wolff 110). Not long after reaching the bank Arthur asks Jack to take back what he had said just before the fight started and Jack, wanting to be on good terms with Pepper, agrees to take it back. While Jack begins to climb the hill, Arthur, wanting to hear ‘You're not a sissy’, yells again. Jack turns to look at his …show more content…
One way it allows itself to be seen is when Jack looks back at his friends, as if expecting them to tell him what to do. Jack, thinking his friends are the people who keeps him cool. Before this scene Jack remarked that, “[...] [he] was afraid of what it would cost [him]” (108) if he became friends with Arthur. Jack acts like what is best for him is to be cool. He looks to his friends for what is considered ‘hip’. Another way is because he apologizes to Arthur. Jack’s wounded spirit because of a dog not liking him is what makes him apologize. He hopes that if Arthur tolerates him the dog will like him and won’t yapp or lunge at him anymore. Jack does have a quick internal struggle about what he wants but in the end choose the dog because, “[he] liked dogs more than [he] liked people [...]”