Through my reading of the modernistic masterpiece, Simon and the Oaks, a subconscious connection was made between Simon and I based on the simple, universal relationship of the challenges of growing up as a male. Through the pressures placed on Simon to be, at the time, what was perceived as masculine and the conflict that this brings between Simon and his parents, particularly between the contradictory attitudes of "being" to his Father, I gain a further ability to connect and shape this text in a way unique to my upbringing.

Through my constant empathizing with Simon and my mental expectation of what type of moral person Simon is, I find myself readily accepting the position of the implied reader. Through the complex journey and transformation that is Simon's life and the realization of the uncertainty and bleakness of existance, I have no trouble agreeing with Fredriksson. I also...