Teddy Mccardle

This story begins by introducing the reader to its protagonist, Teddy. Teddy is a highly spiritual ten year old genius, he believes in reincarnation and that, in a past life he was an Indian man who was close to enlightenment. However, his meditation was interrupted and he was reincarnated into the body of an American boy. Teddy is determined to reach enlightenment, so he meditates constantly and refuses to buy into American culture and the materialistic society that comes along with it. Teddy and his family are on a cruise ship, returning from Europe where Teddy had met with some prestigious universities. On the ship, Teddy meets and has a conversation with a man named Bob Nicholson. They talk a lot about religion, and Teddy shares his beliefs …show more content…
McArdle (Teddy’s father), Mrs. McArdle (Teddy’s mother), Booper (Teddy’s sister), and Bob Nicholson, The protagonist/central character of this story is Teddy McArdle, a spiritual child prodigy who, in a past life had been an Indian man close to enlightenment. However, his meditation was interrupted by a woman which, caused him to be reincarnated in the body of an American boy. This causes him to cut out all distractions, such as material items and girls so that he may become closer to enlightenment. Teddy is an interesting character because, while he is a genius, close to enlightenment he still is a ten year old boy. For most people, well spoken, intelligent, spiritual ten year olds are unheard of which, makes his character somewhat unbelievable. This can be easily overlooked, especially by readers who are too busy thinking about what Teddy has to say rather than question how out of character it would be for a ten year old boy to be so …show more content…
The ship is assumed to be very luxurious and nice, as Mr. and Mrs. McArdle both willingly chose to board the ship. Mr. and Mrs. McArdle are both materialistic and value material possessions and expensive items(e.g. Mr. McArdle puts high value on his expensive suitcase), therefore we can assume they would only want to go on the nicest cruise ship. This cruise ship embodies American culture and is essentially, a distraction. The McArdles are on the cruise ship as a vacation, they’re taking this vacation to distract them from their regular lives and what’s happening in the real world. The setting, is symbolic of consumerism and how it’s a distraction from the real world and how little everything means in the grand scheme of things. American culture is what makes it hard for Teddy to live a spiritual life, because American people are too distracted by material items to seek enlightenment. This setting can also represent Teddy’s views on regeneration, and how everything that has been done in this life means very little in the grand scheme of things. He views every one of his lives as a distraction from his main goal, reaching