Welding with Children

“It was a sad sight, I guess. I shouldn’t have had that greasy old engine hanging from a Kmart chain in my side yard. I knew better.”

Although Bruton claims seeing the grandchildren swing on the engine is a sad sight, Bruton’s qualification of “I guess” suggests he is not convinced enough to clean up his yard. The sentence reveals the gulf between Bruton’s belief of right and wrong and his actual actions.

“I kind of liked the history professor, and learned to write down a lot of what he said, but he dropped dead one hot afternoon in the middle of the pyramids and was replaced by a little porch lizard that looked down his nose at me where I sat in the front row. He bit on me pretty good, I guess because I didn’t look like nobody else in that class, with my short red hair and blue jeans that were blue.”

Bruton’s description of his history professor’s treatment of him is one of the few instances where he alludes to his outsider-status as a blue-collar worker in college. The passage implies that Bruton’s decision to leave college was at least partly based on his disconnect from his classmates and on his teacher’s cruelty toward him.

“I could see the memories the kids would have of their grandfather whaling away at two snuff-dripping geezers. I looked them in the eye and smiled, surprising even myself. Bastardmobile. Man.”

The single-word sentences of “Bastardmobile” and “Man” reveal how upset and stupefied Bruton is by the insult. However, Bruton’s desire to be perceived well by his grandchildren pushes him to control himself.

“He just stared at me, and I saw that he had no idea of what late was. Glendine, his mamma, probably lets him fall asleep in front of the set every night. I pictured him crumpled up on that smelly shag rug she keeps in front of the TV to catch the spills and crumbs.”

This is one of the first instances where Bruton reflects on children’s upbringing. The image of Freddie lying on the rug reveals both Bruton’s sympathy and contempt for his daughter’s parenting.

“When I was their age, all I wanted to do was make mud pies or play in the creek. I didn’t want anything but a twice-a-week nickel to bring to the store. These kids ain’t eight years old and already know enough to run a casino.”

Bruton uses hyperbole to emphasize the generational differences between himself and his grandchildren. Bruton’s description of the kids’ ability to run a casino is humorous, considering the maturity and intelligence required of such a task. It also harkens back to his wife’s love for the casino—a love he does not share.

“‘Was that angel really gonna stick Adam with that sword?’ Moonbean asked.

‘Forget about that darned sword, will you?’

‘Well, that’s just mean’ is what she said.

‘No, it ain’t,’ I said. ‘They got what was coming to them.’”

The exchange between Bruton and Moonbean underscores the disconnect between Bruton and his grandchildren as well as his growing frustration with the children. Bruton does not view Moonbean’s questions as sign of her curiosity, but rather as a distraction from the Bible lesson.

“I tore into how Abraham almost stabbed Isaac, and the kids’ eyes got big when they saw the knife. I hoped that they got a sense of obedience to God out of it, but when I asked Freddie what the point of the story was, he just shrugged and looked glum.”

The violence of the verb “tore” reflects the intensity with which Bruton tries to impress biblical lessons onto his grandchildren. Bruton wants his grandchildren to pick up the Bible quickly and is disappointed when the meaning of the Bible stories is not immediately apparent to them. In this section, Bruton also, humorously, chooses particularly violent and shocking stories and doesn’t understand how the children are confused or appalled in response nor how they can connect these stories to violent media they’ve been exposed to.

“‘Daddies don’t kill their sons when they don’t like them,’ Freddie told her. ‘They just pack up and leave.’

He broke apart the two halves of his Popsicle and bit one and then the other.

Real quick I started in on Sodom and Gomorrah and the burning of the towns full of wicked people.”

Bruton’s quick change of conversation following Freddie’s comment reveals his discomfort over the topic of Freddie’s father. Bruton is reluctant to confront and think about his grandchildren’s absent fathers, as this will require him to reflect on his own role as a father. Again, there is a lack of accountability in Bruton’s character.

“At a commercial I asked Moonbean, who has the softest heart, what she thought of kids that threw their parents into the street. She put a finger in one ear and said through a long yawn that if the parents did mean things, then the kids could do what they wanted to them. I shook my head, went into the kitchen, found the Christmas vodka, and poured myself a long drink over some ice cubes.”

Moonbean’s belief that kids should be able to get back at their parents contrasts with Bruton’s views regarding parenting. This is a particularly humorous discrepancy between the two characters highlighting their generational divide. After extensively attempting to teach the children to fear and respect God and elders, Moonbean declares that the opposite makes sense and reveals that none of the information has stuck with her the way Bruton intended.

“Across from the cypress railroad station was our little red-brick city hall with a green copper dome on it, and on the grass in front of that was a pecan tree and a wooden bench under it. Old men sometimes gathered there under the cool branches and told each other how to fix tractors that hadn’t been made in fifty years, or how to make grits out of a strain of corn that didn’t exist anymore.”

Bruton, initially, is dismissive toward the pecan tree and the bench by highlighting its apparently archaic use and comically referencing its nonexistent purpose. The language use is also of note here: “cool branches,” “little red-brick city,” and “green copper.” These adjectives all construct a modest image of the town that enhances the text’s representation of the town’s space.

“‘Too late for their mammas.’ He put up a hand and let it fall like an ax. ‘They’ll have to decide to straighten out on their own. Nothing you can tell those girls now will change them a whit.’ He said this in a tone that hinted I was stupid for not seeing this. Dumb as a post.”

Mr. Fordlyson’s hand gesture reinforces the notion that Bruton’s daughters have fallen while also indicating, through simile, that he is abrasive. This has the desired effect to begin Bruton’s transformation to his thought process as is evidenced by his repetition.

“After a session with the Methodist preacher I went home and stared at the yard and then stared at the telephone until I got up the strength to call Famous Amos Salvage. The next morning a wrecker and a gondola came down my road, and before noon Amos loaded up four derelict cars, six engines, four washing machines, ten broken lawn mowers, and two and a quarter tons of scrap iron. I begged and borrowed Miss Hanchy’s Super-A and bush-hogged the three acres I own and then some. I cut the grass and picked up around the workshop. With the money I got from the scrap, I bought some aluminum paint for the shop and some first-class stuff for the outside of the house.”

In recounting his actions after his conversation with Mr. Fordlyson, Bruton outlines his first experiences with The Price of Redemption. While Bruton previously reflected on his stagnancy in life, he now must make major changes to better serve his grandchildren and redeem his sense of self in the process.

“And her eyes started to get red, so she broke and ran for her car.

‘Wait,’ I called, but it was too late. In a flash she was gone in a cloud of gravel dust, racing toward the most cigarette smoke, music, and beer she could find in one place.”

Bruton’s inability to catch his daughter before she leaves parallels his failures to instruct his daughters before they leave the house. Still, he is left with the grandchildren as he faces a new future. This quote also highlights his still-existent judgment of his daughters and their lives while maintaining the humorous tone of the story.