By focusing on Less Than Zero (1985) by Bret Easton Ellis and The Accidental Tourist (1985) by Anne Tyler I will explore the primary family groups with reference to any relevant secondary characters. I will examine the different relationships the protagonists, Clay and Macon, have with their families and discuss whether there is any correlation between their upbringing and their situation at home, and how they adapt and communicate in the outside world. The parents of both Clay and Macon are separated and do, or did not exercise a stable family unit. Clays father does not live at home with his mother and sisters and Macons mother left him and his brothers and sister in the care of their grandparents. Clay is a dependent child, although at college, and displays negative attributes, such as drug abuse, which could be due to the unstable situation at home. Macon is a middle-aged man and exhibits problems communicating with anyone outside the secure circle of his siblings, which could be a residual effect of the disconnected childhood due to the abandonment by his mother. Throughout my discussion of both books I will investigate the treatment of single parent families and highlight the negativity of these portrayals.
Macon is very close to his siblings and they all have peculiar personality traits that inhibit their capability to interact with people outside their family group. Macons own condition seems to have been controlled while he was living with his wife Sarah, but after she leaves him he is consumed by sadness for their late twelve year old son, Ethan, who was murdered whilst away at camp. The unpredictability of Ethans death upsets Macons reliable structure in life and he experiences difficulty in accepting the fact that he cannot control what happens to him or those around him. When left on his own Macon immediately and unconsciously reverts back to his irrational habits in an attempt to regain order and organisation.
He started keeping the kitchen sink filled at all times, adding some chlorine bleach for disinfectant. As he finished using each dish, he dropped it in. On alternate days he pulled the plug and sprayed everything with very hot water. (Tyler, 1985, p. 7)
Before Macons mother abandoned her children she had relationships with many different men and she unexpectedly varied between insulting her children and smothering them. This irrational and unpredictable behaviour did not create a stable basis from which the children could grow and so their present dysfunctional tendencies are not surprising. Rose, Macons sister, stays at home to take care of his two brothers, Porter and Charles and she exhibits her own unusual habits, Rose had a kitchen that was so completely alphabetised, youd find the allspice next to the ant poison. (1985, pg. 12) Due to sharing such irregular practices the Leary siblings are able to understand and support each other and this generates a closeness that provides security and comfort. Even though this is healthy and necessary for an individual it can be interpreted as suffocating and constrictive. They all seem to be ignoring the fact that they have serious problems functioning outside the home.
One of the qualities that all four Leary children shared was a total inability to find their way aroundNone of them ever stepped outside without obsessively noting all available landmarks, clinging to a fixed and desperate mental map of the neighbourhood. (1985, p. 115)
The situation in the Leary household appears to be presented as a challenge to escape from. Porter and Charles have both had failed marriages resulting in their return to their grandparents house and Macon almost qualifies for another failure after his separation from Sarah and his inability to manage alone. However, after he is forced to move back to the family home due to a broken leg he realises this is a backwards step, Was there any real change? He felt a jolt of something very close to panic. Here he still was! The same as ever! What have I gone and done? (1985, p. 79) This realisation removes Macon from the consequence of staying in the family home forever and introduces the hope of progression to his life. Macon longs so deeply for maternal comforts that he has to acknowledge to a degree the nature of his need. (Voelker, 1989, p. 157) In Sarahs departure Macon was wrong in looking to Rose for maternal comfort as this was negative in terms of progression. Once aware of this Macon can then begin to prepare himself for the inevitable search for a replacement woman who can provide the maternal comfort he longs for.
In opposition to Macons family cocoon Clay receives no support from his parents and he is so distant from his sisters that he does not distinguish one from the other or even mention their names. Clay does show an interest in talking to his parents but it is almost as if he knows he will not provoke any genuine love from them and so his attempts are half-hearted, Im sitting in Trumps with my fatherMy father doesnt say much. I try to make conversation. He keeps looking out the window, eyeing the fire-hydrant-red Ferrari. (Easton Ellis, 1985, p. 133) When out for lunch with his mother the whole situation is forced, as is all of the time he spends with his family, and they both declare the other looks unhappy but neither denies it and neither offers sympathy or support. Clay goes to meet his father and there is no sincere affection in their meeting, it is as if they are going through the motions of what is expected of them.
It doesnt bother me that my father leaves me waiting there for thirty minutes while hes in some meeting and then asks me why Im late. It also doesnt really make me angry that at lunch my father talks to a lot of businessmen, people he deals with in the film industry, who stop at our table and that Im introduced only as my son. (1985, p. 33)
Clay appears bored with his life; there is too much money available to him, too much leisure time, nothing surprises him and none of his friends seem to interest him. Clays lack of care for anything or anybody reflects the lack of care he receives from his parents; he seems unable to love, just like they seem unable to love him.
All of the families that are mentioned in Less Than Zero include divorced parents. Not only are the parents divorced but they seem to take no interest in maintaining a family unit. Considering the book is set over the Christmas period, which is stereotypically a time for appreciating loved ones, it is especially shocking to read of parents and children not knowing where the other is. Clay is talking to friend from college, Daniel,
Where are your parents? I ask.
My parents?
Yeah.
In Japan, I think.
What are they doing there?
Shopping.
I nod.
They might be in Aspen, he says. Does it make any difference? (1985, p. 47)
It later becomes apparent that Daniels parents are not planning on returning home for Christmas at all. When Daniels parents have returned home, Clay goes to Daniels house in search of him, Daniels motherstops playing tennis with the ball machine andtalks about Japan and Aspenthe maid brings her an iced teashe tells me she hasnt seen Daniel for days. (1985, p.135) Daniels mothers relaxed and laid back attitude to his disappearance shows a lack of respect and concern for his welfare. Disinterest of this kind must have a strong impact on the childs life. If the parents have supported the idea that leaving the child alone for long periods of time and showing no interest in the childs life is acceptable then the child may accommodate the same method when they become a parent.
The negative treatment endorsed by the parents in Less Than Zero could be interpreted as an attack on single parent families. The unstable family units described in the book could be linked to the irresponsible behaviour of the children. As the parents pay no attention to how their children spend their spare time they are at liberty to do as they wish. The issue of drugs is treated with indifference, and even though the decision to use drugs could be due to the pressure of popular culture the lack of attention the children receive from their parents seems to make it more acceptable and also more accessible. There are no boundaries set, no example of right and wrong; in reply to one of his sisters questions Clays mother is present and does not react to him saying, you both stole a quarter gram of cocaine from me the last time I left my door open. (1985, p.17) They also seem to have access to an unlimited amount of money so there is not even a financial limit to their activities. When out to lunch with his father he asks Clay if he needs any money, No, I tell him, knowing that hell slip me some later on (1985, p.35). With this amount of freedom a situation could spiral out of control and this proves to be the case as the incidents become more serious and severe as the book progresses. The two major episodes involve watching a snuff movie and the rape and murder of a twelve year old girl. Although his peers encourage him Clay refuses to par-take in either of these incidents and this separates him from the rest of the group. He does not actively stop the events from taking place (for example, he could have notified the police to prevent the girl from being murdered) but this could be suggesting that the situation was beyond control and there was nothing Clay could have done to make any difference. As Clay rejects these pressures he is beginning to reject the entire way of life and even if he cannot change the way his peers or his family live their lives he can change himself. An indication of Clays desire to change himself is in his decision to return to college in the spring; his college is in the East, securely away from the negative influences of his life in the West.
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