and the shadows took him
The novel “and the shadows took him” was a surprising and enjoyable read for me. I had no idea what the novel was about. I only knew that I had to read it for the first MJC class I’ve taken in 20 plus years! The book was an easy read for me, and one that I had trouble putting down.
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly Chacon grabbed my attention as he introduced me to the characters. In particular, I developed feelings and respect for Joey as he seemed to try and fit in with his misfit family. During the first half of the book, Joey wants to be loved and show love, but is constantly pushed away by his family. His father belittles him and beats him, and his mother shows him little affection.
I thought Chacon did a very good job of developing the other characters in the book as well. We see William who is the brutal father. Rachael the mother tries to keep the family together. Personally, I thought she did a horrible job of it. I would have liked Chacon to have let us see more of who Rachael really was. There seemed to be hints of her cheating on William throughout the novel. She met the nice man at the grocery store, and then took Joey for ice cream telling him not to tell anyone and keep it a secret. At other times she is described as going out for the day. She always looked and smelled nice. It left me wondering if this contributed to Joey’s eventual tumble into becoming his father.
Vero and Billy were not as prevalent throughout the story, but had very important roles. When we first met Billy, he seemed to be headed down the wrong path but eventually straightens up. He seemed to be taking a path opposite of Joey who started out strong, and fell into a life of gangs and drugs. Vero was important because she did what Rachael should have done, left William.
As the novel progressed, I first thought Joey would be the most interesting character for me. However, when I finished the novel I found myself very upset with Rachael. Rachael watches as her son Joey slip into becoming his father, a man Rachael comes to despise. She never does enough to stop William. She stands by while William torments, cusses and beats Joey and his other children. She stands by as William beats the family dog and flirts with a teenage girl. She makes threats to leave William, but does not. Near the end of the novel, Rachael finally tells Joey he is becoming his father. By now, though, it is too late. Joey takes the final steps into serious drug use and violence.
I almost feel guilty with my resentment towards Rachael. After all, it is William who is the bad person and ruins everyone’s life with his anger and violence. I cant’ help but hope that all of Joey’s talents would not have been better served if Rachael had removed him from William and the horrible environment he created. I look forward to reading other entries to see if others feel the same as I do towards Rachael, or if others feel Rachael was more of a victim herself.
Independent of the characters, there was a word used several times in the novel that caught my attention. When Rachael describes her meeting William, she tells us she saw something unique about him. William describes the hot pink paint for the house as unique. Joey also talks about his uniqueness. In the novel, the characters use the word to symbolize something good. William and Joey had unique qualities that made Rachael believe there was good in them. The house paint would make their home unique and stand out.
The symbolism of the word struck me with the house paint. The paint was unique alright, but the paint was wrong. It was out of place and ugly. I did not fit together with the rest of the neighborhood and Rachael did not like it. The paint was much like William and much like Joey was becoming. They were both wrong, out of place, and ugly dark people by the end of the novel.
Finally, I loved the ending. It leaves us wondering what happens, just as life leaves us wondering what will happen tomorrow. It underscores the importance of choice and of fitting in. It leaves us to recognize that although others influence our lives, the final choices we make are ours and ours alone. Joey has chosen the wrong road in life, but we are left to hope he will someday choose a different path and put his talents to use.
Andy Schlenker
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly Chacon grabbed my attention as he introduced me to the characters. In particular, I developed feelings and respect for Joey as he seemed to try and fit in with his misfit family. During the first half of the book, Joey wants to be loved and show love, but is constantly pushed away by his family. His father belittles him and beats him, and his mother shows him little affection.
I thought Chacon did a very good job of developing the other characters in the book as well. We see William who is the brutal father. Rachael the mother tries to keep the family together. Personally, I thought she did a horrible job of it. I would have liked Chacon to have let us see more of who Rachael really was. There seemed to be hints of her cheating on William throughout the novel. She met the nice man at the grocery store, and then took Joey for ice cream telling him not to tell anyone and keep it a secret. At other times she is described as going out for the day. She always looked and smelled nice. It left me wondering if this contributed to Joey’s eventual tumble into becoming his father.
Vero and Billy were not as prevalent throughout the story, but had very important roles. When we first met Billy, he seemed to be headed down the wrong path but eventually straightens up. He seemed to be taking a path opposite of Joey who started out strong, and fell into a life of gangs and drugs. Vero was important because she did what Rachael should have done, left William.
As the novel progressed, I first thought Joey would be the most interesting character for me. However, when I finished the novel I found myself very upset with Rachael. Rachael watches as her son Joey slip into becoming his father, a man Rachael comes to despise. She never does enough to stop William. She stands by while William torments, cusses and beats Joey and his other children. She stands by as William beats the family dog and flirts with a teenage girl. She makes threats to leave William, but does not. Near the end of the novel, Rachael finally tells Joey he is becoming his father. By now, though, it is too late. Joey takes the final steps into serious drug use and violence.
I almost feel guilty with my resentment towards Rachael. After all, it is William who is the bad person and ruins everyone’s life with his anger and violence. I cant’ help but hope that all of Joey’s talents would not have been better served if Rachael had removed him from William and the horrible environment he created. I look forward to reading other entries to see if others feel the same as I do towards Rachael, or if others feel Rachael was more of a victim herself.
Independent of the characters, there was a word used several times in the novel that caught my attention. When Rachael describes her meeting William, she tells us she saw something unique about him. William describes the hot pink paint for the house as unique. Joey also talks about his uniqueness. In the novel, the characters use the word to symbolize something good. William and Joey had unique qualities that made Rachael believe there was good in them. The house paint would make their home unique and stand out.
The symbolism of the word struck me with the house paint. The paint was unique alright, but the paint was wrong. It was out of place and ugly. I did not fit together with the rest of the neighborhood and Rachael did not like it. The paint was much like William and much like Joey was becoming. They were both wrong, out of place, and ugly dark people by the end of the novel.
Finally, I loved the ending. It leaves us wondering what happens, just as life leaves us wondering what will happen tomorrow. It underscores the importance of choice and of fitting in. It leaves us to recognize that although others influence our lives, the final choices we make are ours and ours alone. Joey has chosen the wrong road in life, but we are left to hope he will someday choose a different path and put his talents to use.
Andy Schlenker
posted by AndyS@MJC at 8:24 PM
3 Comments:
Yes, so do you remain optimistic for Joey?
I think I am more hopeful than optimistic for Joey. The drug he uses at the end of the novel is very addictive. There is a good chance he will never be able to kick the habit and there may be life long consequences from the one use of the drug. He chooses to stay with his father after all the abuse he has gone through.
One can only hope at this point that something may turn him around in his life. At the end of the novel, he is headed in the wrong direction. His only hope is to move away with his mother. Given her inability to help him so far, I'm not sure she would be able to guide him in the right direction even if he did move with her.
Unfortunately, Joey has become a product of his environment and a product of his choices. As a law enforcement officer, I have seen many "Joey's" choose the wrong path and not recover. It is devasting and heart wrenching to see happen. But, there is always hope!
I am working on my Essay #4-for the shadows took him and I want to discuss one of the questions to bring up in the essay. the question is: Is Rachel a good mother? I think Rachel married young and had now idea how to be a mother. Her husband abused her children but not her. She did not protect her children. She stayed with her husband even though he verbally and physically abused his children. He verbally abused her and embarressed her by messing around with young girls. She finally got fed up and left her husband but after over 20 years of abuse. No, I don't think she was a good mother. She loved her kids but not enough to protect them. They only have their parents to protect them and if they don't who will.
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