I read up to the eleventh section of the book, from Tape OZK0011.
The eleventh section begins with the bike trip as he recovers from a devastating fall into the ditch. He is met by Arnold, a generous old man, and his wife Edna who is hostile to Adam due to her fear of strangers. Although his bike is fine, the two allow Adam to come along in their car as they head for a town called Hookset. With his body hurting from the fall, his head also starts to feel hazy as he falls asleep singing “The Farmer in the Dell.” Adam is awoken by Arnold and Edna as they arrive in Hookset. Adam, however, feels sick, deciding to go to a pharmacy to find a medicine for his upset stomach.
The scene changes to the conversation between Adam and Brint as Adam complains to Brint about the pain in his body because of all the shots he had to take. Brint apologizes and continues on with the session to make progress. With the reminder from Brint of where they had left off, Adam is able to tell more information that he remembers about the gray man. Adam tells Brint that the gray man was a mysterious man who frequently visited his family. The reason that Adam had called this man the gray man was not only because his dad called him Grey, but also that he was a vague character. During his visit, he would always go down to the basement with his dad and talk while his mother would lifelessly sit upstairs. Adam had not been suspicious of the gray man since his father told Adam that the gray man was only an insurance agent. However, after discovering the existence of his aunt and the sealed birth certificates in his father’s drawers, Adam had grown suspicious of this gray man.
The narrative changes to a third person in which the scene changes to a Saturday that the g
ray man had visited his father. The two swiftly headed down to the basement as usual. Adam could not hold in the suspicion of the gray man anymore as he quietly went down to the basement, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. However, he was struck with panic as he realized that the door was soundproofed, barely stepping away in time for his dad to catch him spying. The scene returns to the taped conversation as Adam tells Brint that he had felt horrible about spying on his dad and decided to apologize to him, having realized that his father had some idea that Adam had been spying. When he went upstairs to apologize, he heard his parents talking, therefore decided to hear what their conversation was about, before he went into their room. His parents were concerned that Adam is starting to suspect them. Adam’s mother started to complain about the gray man visiting Adam’s dad in the house and how the gray man should have used his real name, Thompson. Adam’s father explains that Thompson, the gray man, uses a variety of names to survive. Adam’s father also tells that the family survived through Thompson. However, his mother is still unsatisfied that their life has to remain stagnant as if they had no life at all. Their conversation returned to the topic about Adam. Adam was growing older, but his parents didn’t really know what to do with him. Adam’s father also revealed to Adam’s mother that Adam had been spying, eavesdropping during her phone call with Martha.
The connection between the taped conversation and the first narrative of the bike trip is made stronger as more clues are revealed. During the bike trip, Adam falls into the ditch and his body is completely sore as he is helped by an elderly couple. When the scene changes to the taped conversation, Adam tells Brint that his body hurts, blaming it upon the shots he was given from the hospital. These clues continue leading to the idea that the bike trip and the conversation is occurring at the same time rather than different periods of time in Adam’s life. Another crucial hint is that Adam is in some sort of medical institute as he is having the taped conversations. When Adam arrives in the town of Hookset during his bike journey, he also enters a medical institute for some medicine to help his upset stomach. The hazy mystery between the different scenes starts to unfold little by little as more detailed clues and connections are shown.
The eleventh section shows that identity is a critical part of this mystery as Adam realizes that the gray man had been using a variety of identities to hide from danger. Adam also becomes aware that their family is in a life-threatening situation in which his family is hiding. He reasons that his parents could not socialize because they had to hide their identity. It is something about the identity of gray man and what he does, the two different birth certificates, and the emphasis the father had put on the song, “The Farmer in the Dell.” Since the dad puts such emphasis in the song, “The Farmer in the Dell,” for having their family name in the song, more suspicion is created that the name of Adam’s family has been changed. It is as though Adam’s father is trying to imprint on Adam’s mind that their family’s last name is Farmer through this song. The two different birth certificates also indicate that Adam may have once changed his identity, especially because of the fact that his father was keeping the certificates sealed in his desk drawers to keep a secret. The alternation of Adam’s identity is in a way affirmed as it is revealed that the gray man is in a same situation with Adam’s family, changing his names different times to hide his identity which direct that Adam’s family had also changed their names, having been in the similar circumstances of the gray man. More thrills is brought to the story since these clues not only show that Adam’s identity has changed, but brings curiosity of Adam’s past and what has terrible event has caused Adam’s family to change their identity.
The part of this section that has significantly stood out for me was the fact that Adam was in fear as he was in curiosity to find out about his family’s identity. Adam does try to figure out the mystery behind his family’s identity. However, he is a bit hesitant, getting an idea that his past is not a pleasant one. He is in devastation as he is confused whether he should try to find out about his past or hold back. He is full of both curiosity and fear as he knows that his past was horrifying, yet he still wants to find out. Although I haven’t been in a situation as serious as Adam’s, there were many times that I tried to figure things out when I already knew how terrifying it is. For instance, when people told me that one of my friends had a horrible past, I tried to ignore them and continue on with our relationship. Yet, I found it suspicious that he always had to go to the hospital. I soon found myself searching through his album and his mails even when I was in complete fear of finding something horrible. It was not long before I found out that my friend had gone through fourteen surgeries on his leg due to a disease. When I had finally found the truth, I desperately wished that I would have gone back in time to have never found out such tragedy, yet I continued to these acts throughout other times in my life. Through this I realized that some things aren’t told and kept a secret for a reason. Therefore, as Adam was trying to find more and more about the secret past that had been kept from him, I kept wishing in my mind that Adam would stop with the spying as I fell deeper into my reading.
The eleventh section begins with the bike trip as he recovers from a devastating fall into the ditch. He is met by Arnold, a generous old man, and his wife Edna who is hostile to Adam due to her fear of strangers. Although his bike is fine, the two allow Adam to come along in their car as they head for a town called Hookset. With his body hurting from the fall, his head also starts to feel hazy as he falls asleep singing “The Farmer in the Dell.” Adam is awoken by Arnold and Edna as they arrive in Hookset. Adam, however, feels sick, deciding to go to a pharmacy to find a medicine for his upset stomach.
The scene changes to the conversation between Adam and Brint as Adam complains to Brint about the pain in his body because of all the shots he had to take. Brint apologizes and continues on with the session to make progress. With the reminder from Brint of where they had left off, Adam is able to tell more information that he remembers about the gray man. Adam tells Brint that the gray man was a mysterious man who frequently visited his family. The reason that Adam had called this man the gray man was not only because his dad called him Grey, but also that he was a vague character. During his visit, he would always go down to the basement with his dad and talk while his mother would lifelessly sit upstairs. Adam had not been suspicious of the gray man since his father told Adam that the gray man was only an insurance agent. However, after discovering the existence of his aunt and the sealed birth certificates in his father’s drawers, Adam had grown suspicious of this gray man.
The narrative changes to a third person in which the scene changes to a Saturday that the g
ray man had visited his father. The two swiftly headed down to the basement as usual. Adam could not hold in the suspicion of the gray man anymore as he quietly went down to the basement, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. However, he was struck with panic as he realized that the door was soundproofed, barely stepping away in time for his dad to catch him spying. The scene returns to the taped conversation as Adam tells Brint that he had felt horrible about spying on his dad and decided to apologize to him, having realized that his father had some idea that Adam had been spying. When he went upstairs to apologize, he heard his parents talking, therefore decided to hear what their conversation was about, before he went into their room. His parents were concerned that Adam is starting to suspect them. Adam’s mother started to complain about the gray man visiting Adam’s dad in the house and how the gray man should have used his real name, Thompson. Adam’s father explains that Thompson, the gray man, uses a variety of names to survive. Adam’s father also tells that the family survived through Thompson. However, his mother is still unsatisfied that their life has to remain stagnant as if they had no life at all. Their conversation returned to the topic about Adam. Adam was growing older, but his parents didn’t really know what to do with him. Adam’s father also revealed to Adam’s mother that Adam had been spying, eavesdropping during her phone call with Martha.The connection between the taped conversation and the first narrative of the bike trip is made stronger as more clues are revealed. During the bike trip, Adam falls into the ditch and his body is completely sore as he is helped by an elderly couple. When the scene changes to the taped conversation, Adam tells Brint that his body hurts, blaming it upon the shots he was given from the hospital. These clues continue leading to the idea that the bike trip and the conversation is occurring at the same time rather than different periods of time in Adam’s life. Another crucial hint is that Adam is in some sort of medical institute as he is having the taped conversations. When Adam arrives in the town of Hookset during his bike journey, he also enters a medical institute for some medicine to help his upset stomach. The hazy mystery between the different scenes starts to unfold little by little as more detailed clues and connections are shown.
The eleventh section shows that identity is a critical part of this mystery as Adam realizes that the gray man had been using a variety of identities to hide from danger. Adam also becomes aware that their family is in a life-threatening situation in which his family is hiding. He reasons that his parents could not socialize because they had to hide their identity. It is something about the identity of gray man and what he does, the two different birth certificates, and the emphasis the father had put on the song, “The Farmer in the Dell.” Since the dad puts such emphasis in the song, “The Farmer in the Dell,” for having their family name in the song, more suspicion is created that the name of Adam’s family has been changed. It is as though Adam’s father is trying to imprint on Adam’s mind that their family’s last name is Farmer through this song. The two different birth certificates also indicate that Adam may have once changed his identity, especially because of the fact that his father was keeping the certificates sealed in his desk drawers to keep a secret. The alternation of Adam’s identity is in a way affirmed as it is revealed that the gray man is in a same situation with Adam’s family, changing his names different times to hide his identity which direct that Adam’s family had also changed their names, having been in the similar circumstances of the gray man. More thrills is brought to the story since these clues not only show that Adam’s identity has changed, but brings curiosity of Adam’s past and what has terrible event has caused Adam’s family to change their identity.
The part of this section that has significantly stood out for me was the fact that Adam was in fear as he was in curiosity to find out about his family’s identity. Adam does try to figure out the mystery behind his family’s identity. However, he is a bit hesitant, getting an idea that his past is not a pleasant one. He is in devastation as he is confused whether he should try to find out about his past or hold back. He is full of both curiosity and fear as he knows that his past was horrifying, yet he still wants to find out. Although I haven’t been in a situation as serious as Adam’s, there were many times that I tried to figure things out when I already knew how terrifying it is. For instance, when people told me that one of my friends had a horrible past, I tried to ignore them and continue on with our relationship. Yet, I found it suspicious that he always had to go to the hospital. I soon found myself searching through his album and his mails even when I was in complete fear of finding something horrible. It was not long before I found out that my friend had gone through fourteen surgeries on his leg due to a disease. When I had finally found the truth, I desperately wished that I would have gone back in time to have never found out such tragedy, yet I continued to these acts throughout other times in my life. Through this I realized that some things aren’t told and kept a secret for a reason. Therefore, as Adam was trying to find more and more about the secret past that had been kept from him, I kept wishing in my mind that Adam would stop with the spying as I fell deeper into my reading.
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