The Bath

As the story progresses, the idea of denial and avoidance becomes more apparent by the greater amount of examples that Runyon chooses to reveal. This provides the reader with an easier understanding of Brent's character by taking the conflict from something complex and abstract such as the mind and adapting it to a simpler and more relatable situation. In this post, I'm going to be focusing on the bath that Calvin makes Brent have.

When the scene starts, Brent is watching Cops without a care in the world when Calvin comes in to tell Brent that he has to go take a bath. Brent asks Calvin for permission to finish the episode of Cops before taking a bath, but Calvin, annoyed, insists. Now, this could be seen as a completely normal scene that is not special at all, but then there would be no reason for Runyon to include it in the book. In fact, every scene has its own importance and meaning. I'm just focusing on those scenes in which I find the most significance. In order to find the true meaning behind this, one has to stray from the literal. A typical reader could simply see a kid that doesn't want to bathe. I see a kid trying to distract himself from something necessary and important. Brent knows that he has to bathe for his own good but he would rather spend his time watching a tv show. This forms a parallel with his internal problems as he too wants to avoid these and uses distraction as a tool to do so. This would explain his strange behavior in the past as he is simply trying to distract himself from the conflict that he has to face at some point. What was once wearing all black and appearing to worship a card is now the simple task of watching a tv show. However, as the scene unfolds, Brent shows a change in character.

After talking with Calvin, Brent finally decides to take the bath but is immediately faced by another problem. The water stings. The conflict that Brent has to face won't be easy. Whether it is the emotional pain of his personal conflicts or the physical pain of his body's problems, Brent will have to suffer in order to surpass it. Because of this, Brent decides "No. I can't go in there--it hurts too much."(95) Now, if this was the Brent of the beginning of the story, this scene would've ended here. However, as mentioned before, Brent's character has changed. Brent seems to have matured during his stay in the hospital as he is convinced by Calvin to go through with the bath and take the pain like a man. This is not a smooth cruise as Brent crudely overuses the word "fuck." Nonetheless, he goes through with it and apologizes for his swearing. This gives the slight possibility of Brent doing the same with his more personal problems. Hopefully, Brent will learn from this and face Dr. Rubinstein (now known as Dr. Bitchenstein) in the same manner. Brent must learn that the pain he will face is only temporal and necessary for his own good.