Change/Growth

Every character within the novel grapples with change, be it personal growth of the world-at-large. Social, economic, ideological, and personal change are all present and the manner in which characters react to change speaks to both their position within society as well as their personality. Some characters embrace change, while others fail to do so. Mother and Father, for example, act as foils in the sense that Mother accepts change and as a result thrives, whereas Father’s inability to accept change emotionally cripples him. Throughout the novel, father becomes increasingly depressed and experiences feelings of alienation and helplessness brought on by Mother and the little boy’s increased self-sufficiency. Father is unable to adapt to change, and suffer for it. Mother, on the other hand, embraces both societal and emotional change. She all-but-adopts a black child and marries a Jewish man—both events that were not...