In Jim the Boy, the reader can witness the newly ten year-old boy go through many defining experiences that should have shaped his character. These defining character changes should have occurred during the period the book took place because in the great depression, “everybody felt challenged and changed by the experience” (Everyday Life in the Great Depression n.pag.). The multitude of positive people and places in Jim’s life during the book should have shaped him into a man but they did not. Jim’s dad remained missing throughout the book and came to take the form of someone who “is more of a mystery to him than a missing influence” (Giordano n.pag.). The absence of this father figure, combined with the way he reacts throughout the story to
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Tony Earley’s use of symbolism, figurative language, and the lack of a father figure in Jim the Boy shows the reader how Jim stayed stagnant in his development to becoming a man. First off, Tony Earley used a multitude of different people and places throughout the book to symbolize immaturity in Jim. One of the most important symbols in Jim’s life includes his three uncles, who symbolize the aspects of his missing father. For example, when his Uncle Zeno said “Jim, this was just a mistake until you tried to hide it” “But when you tried to hide it, you made it a lie” (22) he resembled a father teaching his son right and wrong. The previous quote shows his lack of maturity because later in the book Jim’s uncles’s caught him saying “I beat Penn Carson” (114) a bunch of times which shows he hadn’t changed at all maturity wise. Another symbol that highlights his inability to grow up takes form in the sense that Lynn’s mountain represents Jim’s longing for his dad. Earley notes later in the book that Jim thought, “I bet my daddy sat on that rock and rested” (195). This observation shows how Lynn’s mountain symbolizes his immaturity for the fact that Jim can’t stop thinking about how his father acted rather than just moving on and accepting …show more content…
This deprivation of a father figure sheds much needed light on Jim’s immaturity level when his Uncle Al asked if he wished he had a daddy and “the words stung Jim as if they had been made of bones and meat” (56). One other time when his father could have lead him better and had a more direct impact on him occurred when he bragged about winning the dollar over Penn Carson and even with the Uncles advice he still secretly wanted to say “I got a dollar. I got a dollar” (115). Jim’s failure to shake these types of actions carried itself all the way to the end of the book. One more example of Jim feeling something childish for the plain fact that his dad continued to stay out of his life occurred when the uncles told Jim the story about his dad running away from a panther on Lynn’s mountain. Jim’s reaction to the story showed that, “The world suddenly seemed a fearful place” (193). One last example of Jim not having the capacity to deal with life properly without a father figure occurred in the most critical part of the book when Jim tried to take everything in all at once and said, “It’s too big…I’m just a boy” (227). Jim’s inability and struggle to deal with everything that comes at him during life even at the climax of the story shows that he has not revealed dynamic characteristics and stayed stagnant maturity wise from
Tony Earley’s use of symbolism, figurative language, and the lack of a father figure in Jim the Boy shows the reader how Jim stayed stagnant in his development to becoming a man. First off, Tony Earley used a multitude of different people and places throughout the book to symbolize immaturity in Jim. One of the most important symbols in Jim’s life includes his three uncles, who symbolize the aspects of his missing father. For example, when his Uncle Zeno said “Jim, this was just a mistake until you tried to hide it” “But when you tried to hide it, you made it a lie” (22) he resembled a father teaching his son right and wrong. The previous quote shows his lack of maturity because later in the book Jim’s uncles’s caught him saying “I beat Penn Carson” (114) a bunch of times which shows he hadn’t changed at all maturity wise. Another symbol that highlights his inability to grow up takes form in the sense that Lynn’s mountain represents Jim’s longing for his dad. Earley notes later in the book that Jim thought, “I bet my daddy sat on that rock and rested” (195). This observation shows how Lynn’s mountain symbolizes his immaturity for the fact that Jim can’t stop thinking about how his father acted rather than just moving on and accepting …show more content…
This deprivation of a father figure sheds much needed light on Jim’s immaturity level when his Uncle Al asked if he wished he had a daddy and “the words stung Jim as if they had been made of bones and meat” (56). One other time when his father could have lead him better and had a more direct impact on him occurred when he bragged about winning the dollar over Penn Carson and even with the Uncles advice he still secretly wanted to say “I got a dollar. I got a dollar” (115). Jim’s failure to shake these types of actions carried itself all the way to the end of the book. One more example of Jim feeling something childish for the plain fact that his dad continued to stay out of his life occurred when the uncles told Jim the story about his dad running away from a panther on Lynn’s mountain. Jim’s reaction to the story showed that, “The world suddenly seemed a fearful place” (193). One last example of Jim not having the capacity to deal with life properly without a father figure occurred in the most critical part of the book when Jim tried to take everything in all at once and said, “It’s too big…I’m just a boy” (227). Jim’s inability and struggle to deal with everything that comes at him during life even at the climax of the story shows that he has not revealed dynamic characteristics and stayed stagnant maturity wise from