Two Disillusioned Characters

T.C. Boyle’s character Jason in his story ‘She Wasn’t Soft” is shockingly similar to his character Rick in “Killing Babies”. Both characters go through an emotional transition. They begin the story disillusioned with their lives and both seem become lost when focusing on their reality. Jason does not wish for anything better for himself than he is, but lives his life drinking, smoking, watching sports, and hanging out with his surfer buddies. In other words, he lives a pretty shallow life. Rick is a little more reflective of his life but not much and his series of rehab stints are most likely the cause of this. He too, drinks and does drugs, never questioning his level of involvement in his own life. As the stories progress, both characters begin to question the actions of those around them. Jason thinks more and more about Paula, his girlfriend who is an extreme competitor and happens to be training for a marathon. Rick ponders over a brief encounter with Sally, a lost pregnant sixteen year old with a domineering mother. He also remains pensive about the protesters that stand outside his brother’s pregnancy clinic, where he now works. Jason and Rick remain mostly selfish throughout their stories. Jason only thinks of his own wants and needs. His tactless decision to get drunk the night before Paula’s race eventually leads him to rape his own girlfriend. Rick is a little better about not thinking so much about himself, but it is evident that he is not as thankful as he could be to his brother and his family for taking him in. The end of each story offers the biggest upsets in terms of rooting for the characters to succeed. Jason ends up drugging his girlfriend by offering her a cup of water a few feet in front of her finish line. Rick shoots at least three of the protesters in an upheaval outside the clinic. Both instances leave readers wondering how characters that perhaps seemed dim-witted and even a little mean could commit such heinous crimes. It is clear that both characters’ struggles were too powerful for them to overcome. Both Jason and Rick seemed to be suffering from uncontrollable inner-demons that surpassed their reasoning. -Madeline Hinkamp