Independence Day

The sleepy atmosphere of the novel’s first two pages sets the tone for much of the book. While some action occurs as the plot rises to a climax, much of what transpires is narrated in a subdued way. Frank Bascombe, the first-person narrator of the novel, is confronting a mid-life crisis. He has been divorced for seven years and has lost one of his sons to a rare disease. His post-divorce life, which he defines as his “existence period,” centers on his retreat into an obscure, quiet way of life. As the novel begins, he is still haunted by all the trauma he has experienced. As a response to this, Frank figures out an approach to living that, among other things, ignores “much of what I don’t like or that seems worrisome and embroiling” (10). In taking a passive stance in his life, he has shielded himself from potential affliction, which includes exposure to falling in love.

Although Frank would like to live his life quietly and devoid of any serious conflict, he fast realizes he must do something about the situation with his son. Like Frank, Paul has experienced trauma as well, as the surviving son of a divorced mother and father. Paul is 15 and has got himself into trouble. He is going through early adolescence and is struggling to find his own identity. Like his father, Paul relies on psychological defense mechanisms to avoid being hurt. He puts on a disguise, but Frank sees through it. Frank says of Paul, “though he acts and talks like a shrewd sophomore in the honors program at Beloit, full of sly jokes and double entendres (he has also recently shot up to 5’ 8,” with a new layer of quaky pudge all over), his feelings still get hurt in the manner of a child who knows much less about the world than a Girl Scout” (12). Here, Frank’s tacitly recognizes that Paul is trying to become mature, but underneath he is still like a child. Frank feels that, unlike Ann, he can have a beneficial influence on Paul’s current state of mind. While Ann has sought the help of therapists, an idea which Paul and Frank both detest, Frank feels that a good bonding weekend between father and son will have a more lasting and impactful effect. Even though Frank’s stoicism leads him away from things he ultimately cannot control, he also values his role as father, recognizing that he must do something to help his son.

In Chapter 2, readers are introduced to the Markhams, a husband-and-wife couple from Vermont who are seeking to make a better life for their daughter Sonja. The Markhams represent the American Dream in some ways, in that they have used their talents in life to make a good living for themselves. When they decide to move to New Jersey, however, things start to crumble. They sell their house in Vermont even before owning a new one, so they have nowhere to return to should they not get what they want. They are also woefully uninformed as to what the housing market looks like in a populous region of the country. The Markhams are very indecisive. They become hopeless and frustrated in their search for a home in New Jersey. This state of limbo causes them to question other past mistakes, as Frank says, “I know they have begun to brood about all the other big missteps they’ve taken in the past, the high cost of these, and how they don’t want to make any more like that” (44). They cannot afford to live in Haddam at the standard of living they are accustomed to, and they cannot return. The economic system has seemingly doused their ambitions. As a symbol of the American Dream, ordinary folks like the Markhams are emblematic of how elusive fully realizing the dream can be.