Essay Questions

Why is Toph feeling lonely as school starts?

Toph is living with his brother Eggers and they are very close. However, as school starts, he starts feeling lonely because he does not have parents. He lost both parents to cancer. He is now feeling lonely because he misses his parents and making matters worse, he finds it difficult to bond with other parents because they ignore him. There comes a time when someone needs comfort and parental love but it is not easy to come by. Eggers is trying everything possible to fill the gap to make Toph comfortable but this makes him feel lonelier. Beth is away in law school and she is absorbed with her studies. She rarely comes to comfort Toph. Therefore, at some point, Toph feels secluded, pathless and disheartened.

Give one example of how the author uses the literary device of irony.

Eggers' decision to leave his father's funeral to have sex with his girlfriend is ironic to the reader. As the elder son of the deceased, the reader expects him to attend the funeral of his father to completion. However, midway before the burial is over, Eggers leaves the funeral to have a good time with his girlfriend. His action is crazy but besides being a poignant irony, his it symbolizes life and death which he witnesses throughout his life. After the burial of his father, his mother dies later of the same illness. Thereafter, two of his best friends dies and he is responsible for their burial. The reader realizes that life and death are both products of sex.

Why Eggers' mother reluctant to go to the hospital?

Eggers’ mother fears for the worst in case she goes to the hospital because she understands that her blood level is low. She is also sure that chances of survival are minimal because her husband suffered from the same illness. However, at last, her children convince her to go to the hospital. At the hospital, her situation improves and she is taken home but later on, succumbs to cancer. The reader realizes that Eggers' mother's reluctance to go to the hospital is attributable to her assurance that the hospital could do little to help her survive.