Kiley’s answer to “I have a question about the shooting scene. I'm totally lost on what went wrong. Why?” > Likes and Comments
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Thank you. It seems I missed some of this. Gives me a good reason to reread.
Why does Tony Loneman decide not to go through with it?
We never get a certain answer to that, but it seems to be because his sense of identity is stronger than the others', and he is always more uncertain about the crime. When he is hiding the bullets at the end of Part II,: "His heart will be in his ears thinking about the bullets in the bushes, the powwow. And wondering how he had wound up here under the moon, under the looming coliseum walls, hiding bullets in bushes" (143).
Tony's motivation, based on his first piece of narration at the beginning of the book, is a desire to feel noticed for something other than The Drome. He wants to be recognized for all that he is. At the end of the novel, he feels he has achieved this: in his delirium he feels connected to everything and sees himself surrounded by his family, including his mother and grandmother. So he has achieved his character arc without the need for violence and crime--though he ends up being a victim of it anyway.
Thank you for this explanation Kiley, I had the same question and your answer makes this chaotic scene much clearer.
Kiley, THANKS so much! I didn't get any of this from the final portion of the story.
Thank you for the explanation. I was surprised that Tony decided not to go through with it. To be honest, I saw nothing redeeming in him until the very end.
You forgot to include Bill, who also died in his effort to protect his girlfriend’s son, Edwin.
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Donna
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Jul 31, 2018 06:47AM
Thank you. It seems I missed some of this. Gives me a good reason to reread.
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Why does Tony Loneman decide not to go through with it?
We never get a certain answer to that, but it seems to be because his sense of identity is stronger than the others', and he is always more uncertain about the crime. When he is hiding the bullets at the end of Part II,: "His heart will be in his ears thinking about the bullets in the bushes, the powwow. And wondering how he had wound up here under the moon, under the looming coliseum walls, hiding bullets in bushes" (143).Tony's motivation, based on his first piece of narration at the beginning of the book, is a desire to feel noticed for something other than The Drome. He wants to be recognized for all that he is. At the end of the novel, he feels he has achieved this: in his delirium he feels connected to everything and sees himself surrounded by his family, including his mother and grandmother. So he has achieved his character arc without the need for violence and crime--though he ends up being a victim of it anyway.
Thank you for this explanation Kiley, I had the same question and your answer makes this chaotic scene much clearer.
Kiley, THANKS so much! I didn't get any of this from the final portion of the story.
Thank you for the explanation. I was surprised that Tony decided not to go through with it. To be honest, I saw nothing redeeming in him until the very end.
You forgot to include Bill, who also died in his effort to protect his girlfriend’s son, Edwin.
