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Sweet Caress


William Boyd's Sweet Caress captures an entire lifetime unforgettably within its...
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How does the near-death incident of Amory's father affect everything that follows?

Created: 05/30/16

Replies: 4

Posted May. 30, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

How does the near-death incident of Amory's father affect everything that follows?

How does Amory respond to the near-death incident with her father? How much does this event affect everything that follows?


Posted Jun. 09, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
ruthiea

Join Date: 02/03/14

Posts: 271

RE: How does the near-death incident of Amory's father affect everything that follows?

I think it changed her view of her father as her hero and sent her looking for another man to fill that role. It made her trust men less as her first male love betrayed her. She then had anger and finally pity for him rather than admiration.
This seemed to have made her attach herself to unavailable and damaged men, men not really appropriate for her. It also made her want to get away- leave her home and venture out in the world.


Posted Jun. 13, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
KateB

Join Date: 02/11/16

Posts: 60

RE: How does the near-death incident of Amory's father affect everything that follows?

Amory completely changed direction. She was about to work for an Oxford scholarship and that never happened. Although she says she looked into what happened to her father during the war I found it interesting that she reports that from a distance, rather than describing a time in her life when she felt the need to do that. There is an emotional distance in her character, perhaps caused by this event?


Posted Jun. 16, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
reene

Join Date: 02/18/15

Posts: 497

RE: How does the near-death incident of Amory's father affect everything that follows?

In reading the book, I kept waiting for more references to this early trauma where her father attempts to kill himself and also Amory. The family claims it is from a war "injury". Amory herself seems to accept this as an answer. The family seems to sweep it under the carpet. This incident had to make such a lasting impression on her, that everything in her life would be colored by it, unless she has so deeply suppressed her feelings. Maybe it is her reason for being so impulsive and never stopping to think to deeply about her actions. Never questioning why would her father want to kill her?? From experience I would say she should be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.


Posted Jun. 17, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
betsyr

Join Date: 06/17/16

Posts: 1

RE: How does the near-death incident of Amory's father affect everything that follows?

I agree that the drowning attempt by her father impacted Amory by causing her to lose trust. I also think that the fact that she saved her father by pulling him out of the car must have caused her to feel both empowered but also scared that she could not keep all of the events of her life from turning out badly.


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