Dave Eggers Suggestion - Essay Example

Option Dave Eggers Suggestion The most recent book by Eggers “Your Fathers, Where Are They, and the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?” is based in the form of dialogue revolving around the life of the main character in the name Thomas. The author makes a suggestion that the absent of a father in the American society serves as the source of the problems the current generation is facing. Basing on the discussions that the author presents, the father does not only imply the notable head of family, but rather equally fathers of a nation. Fathers of the nation are responsible for ensuring the right policies are put in place to ensure that the population gets a better life. Failure of implementing the right policies and direction, leads to failure in life among the young and future generation. A frustrated Thomas takes into hostage seven individuals that he consider to have played a significant role towards his failure in life and questions then to ascertain the facts. The novel laments what the author considers the decline in American direction, purpose as well as backbone because the American dream is dead. In the very first instance, a reader understands the decline in backbone of the American society as Thomas questions his first captive an astronaut. Upon waking up, the astronaut finds himself tied to a post that is within an abandoned building that happens to have once been a military camp in California coast. Thomas the captor and the same time the kidnapper of the astronaut make a proposal that the two know each other. Thomas introduces himself to the astronaut known as Kev as a person he knew from his days in college although Kev fails to recognize Thomas (Eggers 48). From the ensuing dialogue, it becomes clear to a reader that Kev was a very bright person that devoted most of his time studying engineering and other subjects as well as in the military to become an astronaut and go in the space. However, despite possessing all the required qualifications to go in the space, Kev’s expectations never materialized. Thomas questions the astronaut about his feelings upon getting news that his expectations to use the space shuttle in exploring the space were no longer valid. Once Thomas feels dissatisfied with the response that the astronaut gives him, he moves out in search of his second target. From the discussion ensuing between Kev and Thomas, it is understandable that the astronaut failed to achieve his expectations of flying in the space shuttle after NASA put an end to the Shuttle program. That is a reflection that the American direction where education served as the core driver towards achievement of individual goals and expected opportunities is in decline. Education in that concept is no longer a backbone of the Americans as it happened to be years back. The discussion with Thomas next target exposes the loss of American direction. Thomas abducts Mac Dickson, a Congressman and the same time a veteran of Vietnam War that sustained injury during the war through losing two limbs (Eggers 62). Thomas brings the politician in the next room where he questions the politician and the two engages in a long dialogue. In the dialogue, Thomas accuses the politician as part that contributed towards Thomas failure with the politician denouncing such allegations. Dickson tries to convince Thomas that all the people in the society are not failures and that for one to succeed; it is just a matter of playing by the rules. Although the politician tries to offer an analogy of a football game to Thomas to justify Thomas’s failure, Thomas is dissatisfied and blames the political class for the failure. In the analogy, Dickson claims that it is impossible for everyone to win a football game since some will play the game poorly while others will quit the game, but he argues that it is not proof enough to attribute the game as flawed. However, Thomas argues that the political class destroyed the grassy field and turned it to mud while at the same time moving the end zone where the football game rests. Through the assertions of the politician, Eggers sends a message that long are gone the days when Americans modeled themselves into anything of their choice. Though claiming failure to play by the game as the cause of Thomas failure, the author portrays that failure in the current American society among individuals is considered to result from wrong deeds of those individuals. Since Thomas is dissatisfied with Dickson’s response, he moves to the next target that he considers responsible for his failure. Thomas next kidnaps his former middle-school teacher with the author using the episode together with Thomas kidnap of his mother to portray the loss of American purpose. The teacher is considered to have been molesting students and there is a possibility that he molested the Don and Thomas. Don is by this time an already dead friend of Thomas that met his death through police brutality (Eggers 103). The author uses the dialogue that occurs between Thomas and his previous teacher to portray the failed role of teachers in guiding the students towards realizing their purpose in life. Other than the teacher engaging in moral actions that guide his students to a better life, the teacher molested his students. That serves as a representation of the failure of the American society in all sectors in shaping and showing the purpose of life to the current children. Still dissatisfied with the response he gets from his teacher, Thomas moves further to abduct his mother. The author reveals to the reader that Thomas was brought up by a single mother that he blames for failure of protecting him from the teacher that molested him together with a string of his mothers’ boyfriends (Eggers 48). It becomes clear that Thomas mother was a longtime addict and rather than protecting and shaping his son, she herself places the problems she faces on his Thomas, his son. The author uses the scene to portray how the society has changed leading to hopelessness among children since they fail to get help from where they perceive as the source. The next kidnaps of a police officer and a director of a hospital serve in strengthening the idea behind the author’s message that the American dream is dead. In an attempt to discuss the circumstances that led to his friend’s (Don) death, Thomas abducts a police officer. He is however shocked upon realizing that his victim was among the team that shot his friend (Eggers 159). From the ensuing dialogue, it is clear that Don was shot during a day time seventeen times. Furthermore, Don was not in possession of dangerous weapons, but only in possession of a knife. Again, Don was suffering from a mental challenge. With the excessive force used by the police, the author examines police brutality in the current American society that kills the dream of America as a free nation. The freedom of individuals is not only under threat, but also the right to these freedoms is limited by the existing systems in America. That is evidenced in the dialogue between Thomas and his next victim the hospital director that is responsible for patient access in the hospital where Thomas’s friend met his death. Thomas blames the director to have played a role of cover-up though issuing an official report that Don was shot three times as opposed to seventeen times. Furthermore, in an attempt to protest the cover-up at the hospital, Thomas committed assault that he was never charged against. The final kidnap that Thomas undertakes is a young woman named Sara. The conversation between Sara and Thomas reveals that the two intend and make an agreement to escape together through the boat an issue that Sara considers right. Although she later denies to have changed her plans, Thomas is convinced that she still wants to escape (Eggers 263). The author uses the situation between Sara and Thomas as one that depicts the disillusionment within the young generation of American society that results from blocked paths towards achieving a bright future in all aspects. Dave Eggers message is clear that the American dream is dead as evidenced through the end of purpose, direction and the backbone of the American society. Work Cited Eggers, Dave. Your Fathers, Where Are They? and the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?: A Novel. N.p., 2014. Print. Read More