Farewell

This week is filled with goodbyes. I think this will be my last blog for this class (right?). The reading is also filled with salutations as Bernard watched the death of his brother, Gary. The first part of the book was misleading in a way, since it seemed to be pointing towards Bernard's mother and father. In the end, the focus was his family, but most especially, his brother.

Looking back, the shorter essays from the first part make a lot more sense. Before, "On the Air" did not make much sense to me, but now that I know about his experience with the House of the Future and what it means to fly away. It is as if as an adult, he is still daydreaming about the perfect home and it is unattainable because it is impossible. His home is in his mind, where he is able to cope with the harsh reality that life is temporary and fading. This can be seen on page 101. After his brother died, his mother and father were not able to cope as the usually did but he "was somewhere far in the future, walking into buildings where the climate was controlled, wending my way through lobbies and halls."

Some of the main themes in part two are: Time (control of and lack thereof), flying, home, plastic (artificial & indestructible), mortality, and legacy. Ultimately, everything for Bernard can trace back to death and mortality since it is so intimate to him. After the death of Gary, he realizes what a menace the reaper is and how it can affect everyone's life both before and after the loss of a loved one.

Throughout the part two, Bernard realizes that he is already forgetting things about his brother and knows that he would forget even more once he is dead. Death has a way of stealing many things, one of which is memory, which goes hand in hand with the theme of Time. Most people have children so that they will be remembered. Bernard is so torn by Gary's death that he chose not to contribute more death to the world by having children who will one day die. Perhaps he imagined what it would be like to lose a child, just as his father lost a son. Or maybe he discovered that he is gay..which would be a way for him to be free in one aspect of his life. (Evidence: last chapter, pg. 110, Capiche?)

So long and thanks for all the fish,
Michelle