The end of the novel poses the question of whether or not Miles has grown from his seven year penitence. His test of character occurs after he assaults an officer in the heat of the eviction. Once again "his angry punching hands, his angry pushing hands" got the best of him and his disappointment in his own actions are clear(pg 307). He displays the same rashness as he did on the road with Bobby all those years ago. On the other hand, he chooses against the fugitive path to instead "face the music" with the help of his father and friends (or so we assume)(pg 306).
So has he matured, or is he the same boy?
Neither. The final passage is meant to explore a concept discussed earlier in the novel presented by Renzo. "To write an essay about the things that don't happen, the lives not lived, the wars not fought, the shadow worlds that run parallel to the world we take to be the real world, the not-said and the not-done, the not-remembered" (pg 153).
Miles' condition is altered drastically due to the circumstantial presence of Ellen. She pressures him into speaking with his father over the phone even when he obdurately resists. You might be thinking The complication with the eviction occurred. Why think of this as in the shadow world? Ah yes, so to bring meaning to this approach, we must look at a third point in the novel: Morris and Willa did not have a child between them. Willa even states in the novel how she wanted a kid which sets up the possibility of "what if". Say their was a third sibling who likely would have been at the scene of Bobby's death. Sed person might have acted like Ellen giving the full story to render Miles incapable to bottle his guilt. An early, complete confession might have enabled him to move forward in life through the support of his family and friends, the very same position he is in at the end of the novel. But of course, this possibility is "chancy at best" (pg 153). Nevertheless, the end of the novel is a strikingly congruent situation that gives light to how things might have happened for Miles had there been another member present at the scene of Bobby's death.
The text seems to suggest that dealing with tragedy is not always a measure of maturity, but rather it is up to circumstance and the presence of others that attribute to how people cope, understand and move forward from tragedy; furthermore, that running may not offer an opportunity to grow, but instead a prison where guilt can fester until the broken individual becomes "addicted to the struggle" (pg 263).
I think that you made a great point in saying that "dealing with tragedy... is up to circumstance and the presence of others." Throughout the novel, we see that Miles has a very hard time making decisions and accepting responsibility for matters without the influence of others. He moves to New York because he is forced to by Angela, he calls his parents largely because of Bing's encouragement, etc. In this way, I agree with your statement that Miles often deals with his emotional tribulations through others' actions.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the person dealing with the tragedy is not the deciding factor in the coping mechanism is interesting, the fact that the presence of other people is required gives an interesting perspective on maturity, you seem to be suggesting that maturity is dependent upon others, which although unorthodox, also makes more sense than I would have originally thought
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