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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5-page paper, drawing on Tobias Wolff's autobiography, "The Boy's Life," discusses topics including the symbolism behind the car and Toby's costumes, what Toby was lacking in a father and gender roles in the 1950s, when the book took place.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MTboylif.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the book (which is written in first person), is constantly uprooted, moved around and beaten by the men in his life, while smothered and pushed away by the women in
his life - most notably, his mother. Most children who grew up in a "normal" family might find some of Tobys trials difficult - yet many children, even with intact
families, can suffer the same sense of restlessness, lack of stability and even fear of their parents that Toby suffered throughout the book. In this day and age, particularly, with
both parents working and seemingly indifferent, its not surprising that many children from these types of families turn out much like Toby did - interested in destroying society rather than
becoming a viable member of it. Interestingly enough, the main transport of Tobys early years is that of the car. Cars are
extraordinarily symbolic of many things in American literature - machismo (in other words, a man is a man when hes behind the wheel of a car); escape and impermanence. In
This Boys Life, the car is a symbol not of a manly presence in Tobys young life, but rather, a lack of one. Its also a definite symbol of escape
- Toby and his mother are escaping an abusive situation (one that, ironically enough, Tobys mother was used to, having dealt with it from her own upbringing). The car also
seems to represent forward motion - "We . . . were driving . . .to get away from a man my mother was afraid of and to get rich on
uranium" Toby notes on page 4 of the book. What is especially symbolic and interesting is the uranium - uranium is used to make bombs - and bombs typically destroy.
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