"In Dreams Begin Responsibilites" - Schwartz

Delmore Schwartz's short, "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities," was honestly a little difficult for me to fully understand. Although the concept seems to be one that is not too in depth. In this short, the nararrator is "at" a movie theater watching a movie on his parents' lives. At the beginning, the narrarator is describing every small detail of his father - his emotions, his location, his attire - as if he is trying to understand what his father is really all about. I also noticed the repetition of "my father" at the beginning of multiple paragraphs. I think this emphasizes the boy's watching him and attempt of understanding him as an authoritative figure. The short eventually moves on to explain more on the topic of his mother and father together, however still focusing slightly on his father more. He focuses on where his parents go and what they do. He also repeatedly compares his parents' insights to his own. For example, right before the movie messes up it it noted that his father says something that makes his mother giggle, which happens to be the same time that his unhappiness becomes greater. The same happens in other parts of the short, such as when they are on the boardwalk with the sunlight. These emotions shown by the writer hint to the reader that an unhappy ending may be approaching. It is obvious that these, what seem "happy" occurances, are nothing more than a bad memory and forewarning to the nararator. As the movie progresses, the parents' relationship seems to flounder. Their moods become more hostile and they seem less happy to be with one another. Twice, the boy yells out during the movie, warning the parents to leave while they can or "it's not too late to change [their] minds." These yell-outs during the movie hint at the boy's insecurities that his parents' (obviously failed) marriage caused him to have. I would take from his actions that the ending of the marriage was not one with a peaceful ending and that caused the son's life to be completely changed.

From the last paragraph and the boy awakening on his 21st birthday, it can be assumed that the boy had possibly passed out due to a drunken evening. With the dream ending with the boy being yelled at about all of his actions affecting everyone around him, it made me wonder if maybe he had been living life in the wrong in order to possibly have an excuse for any failures (in which he maybe feared due to his parents' lives).

I am fortunate enough to have a family that is still all together. I'd be lying if I said that my parents never have their share of arguments, but none are drastic enough to have led to a bad ending of their marriage. I have, however, had friends who have had to experience their parents getting divorced. I think that is truly does take such a toll on kids' lives when that happens. Having to go back and forth between the parents and sometimes even having to choose which one they would rather live with does nothing but add stress and insecurities into the child's life. I may have misunderstood the point of this short, but I think that the way in which the boy wakes up is something that can really be relative to others. I think that it is very easy to get off the correct path and get into situations that we know are not the best. I know that I have personally been in situations before that you really don't see the effect of them until watching a show involving it or, in this case, having a dream. I think either can end up being a major wake up call and can really affect how you see the situation. Going back to the parents' roles in the short, I think it is once again a wake up call to how much adults influence a child's behavior and outlook on life and love. 

paragon (p 63) - a model or pattern of excellence or of a particular excellence
"I finally said to him, Tom - good gracious! - why don't you bring this paragon to supper?"