Family

Kirby is also emotionally distant from most of his family, which is one of the other major themes in the story. From the moment that Kirby sits down to dinner with his relatives the first night, he feels out of place: "The other people at the table seem unfamiliar." For Kirby, this feeling manifests itself in the way he views his relatives, how they seem to "waver in the smoky candlelight," a feeling that only goes away when Harold gives him a beer, which "seems to adjust all the figures around the table so that they stop wavering." Kirby's single status makes him feel like an outsider. As the story progresses, Kirby finds himself increasingly yearning for the comforts of family, such as having a wife like Leanne to take care of him: "'sweetie'—he would like for Leanne to call him that."

When Kirby begins drinking...