A Day's Wait

“For two hours tonight, he sits in between his parents with his arms spread out and draped behind their backs. He holds the tops of each of their heads and they nod and blankly drone on about what a wonder and a gift

The protagonist, over-weight, Tub and his two hunting buddies, Frank and Kenny take off early one morning to the snowy mountains for a deer hunt. When they arrive and begin heading to the woods they near a

The transition of the boy’s opinion of his father (from exasperation at his carelessness to admiration of his free spirit) reflects a relaxation of the boy’s severity and of the story’s serious tone. Initially, the writer uses clipped phrasing during the son’s dialogue with his father – such as the blunt “I guess” (1) and the lack of the playful response “Right, doctor” (1) – to create an

The story begins in a courthouse filled with people who spite his father, due to his unlawful crimes. In an effort to prove Abner's guilt, the court asks Sarty to testify against his own blood. Because Abner withhold affection , Sarty feels the need to prove to his father he can be a trustworthy son. Sarty feel that he is required to lie. Sarty says, “He aims for me to lie. And I will have to do hit.” In this moment Sarty feels slight remorse for his dishonesty, but that is quickly overridden by his father. Abner shows no gratitude toward Sarty. Sarty overhears another boy disrespecting his father. With no hesitations he launches for the kid. As the fight continues Sarty hopes that his father is noticing his

“Hey what's going on down here,” dad shouts in confusion.“You guys need to quiet down. It's 4AM and you need to get some sleep.”

Per the tutor's request, the mother and father ceased asking the son about his day as often. They became less protective and more carefree of their son's activities under the promise from his tutor that this was what he needed. " Mrs. Coble," the tutor said, ""I think this kid is hurting. You know? Here's a serious, sensitive kid, telling you he'd like to take on some grown-up challenges, and you're giving him the message that he can't be trusted.

The father and son are constantly separated by the miserable circumstances that they live in. The two never seem to find a chance to truly connect. Whenever they seem to start getting close the threat of death slips into their conversations, pulling them apart again. One example is when the man wants to talk about stories with

He learned to hunt as well as he could for his mother’s sake, but he had it hard without Sounder. One night he felt if he brought one of the foxes his share of supper, maybe it could be their new dog. He’d never had so many scratches. The child remained strong for his family most of the year, but he missed his father at Christmas time more than ever. He missed the way “his father would go to the back door of houses along the street and say ‘Ma’am, would you need some trimmin’s?’ and hold up the biggest spring of mistletoe left in his grain sack.” He missed how even during the toughest times, his father would scrape together some money to get them Christmas presents. He wished his big brother had not gone away to school, and he wished his father still came home for

‘“Everything changes now,” he says. “It’s time I got to know my own son, who had his mind poisoned against me”’(page 100)

The talk with his mother inspires him to make a change in his life and finally end his

He’s institutionalized in a sanitarium and is diagnosed with referential mania. Nevertheless, the story expresses how referential mania has affected their son’s perspective on the world & his life. He imagines that everything happening around him is a veiled reference to his personality and existence. Therefore, he believes nature and certain man-made objects conspire against him. On the parent’s way to the sanitarium, existence seems to malfunction: The subway breaks down; their bus is late, and crammed with noisy children; they are bombarded by pouring rain as they walk the rest of the way. Upon their arrival, they are informed that their son has attempted suicide again. Unfortunately, their visit might trigger something negative for their son. So they do not see him on his birthday. The parents’ lives are solely revolved around their son and his livelihood. Let alone, the sanitarium he is in is understaffed, unqualified, and not curing him in anyway. Therefore, the parents want their son to live with them, so he can have his normal life back. As the parents are making plans for their son to come home, the father is dying from his sickness, but he wants no help from doctors. “To the devil with doctors! We must get him out of there quick” (Nabokov 85). Focused on getting their son home, they get an

Eventually he loses interest in his games and joins “A” on the couch to look on as she plays on a tablet. He sits next to her but is upside down with his feet in the air, as if he were pedaling and imaginary bicycle. He tells an amusing though completely inaccurate story about how babies are made. His older siblings who are still in the room raise eyebrows at each other in amusement but don’t correct him. Shortly following this exchange the first hour of observation comes to an end.

Although the doctors and hospital staff continue to reassure Ann and her husband that their son will be fine - "no coma, Dr. Francis had emphasized, no coma, when he saw the alarm in the parents‘ eyes" - Scotty still does not wake up, and the situation becomes increasingly serious. At the same time, the parents are tormented by late-night phone calls from the baker - "Your Scotty, I got him ready for you…Did you forget him?" - whose mysterious messages lead them to believe he is a psychopath, or the hit-and-run driver who put Scotty into a coma. Then, abruptly, Scotty dies - "the doctors called it a hidden occlusion and said it was a one-in-a-million circumstance." Numb and shaken, the parents return home - but after another taunting prank call, Ann realizes that it is the baker who has been calling, and confronts him in his store; he is instantly remorseful when he learns of the child's death, and offers Ann and Howard some cinnamon rolls - "a small, good thing in a time like this." His empathy helps the parents to deal with Scotty's death and to find some small measure of hope for the future.

Family is not just important. It is worth everything. They will always be there. The passages “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” are both stories about boys who either suffer sickness, or think that they are. Some similarities and differences in this story include setting, sickness, and characters traits.

When Schatz woke up, he had felt sick. He had complained to his father about a headache, but Schatz reassured him he was going to be fine. His father knew that he was not well and called the doctor. Schatz had a fever and the fully but was told he was going to be okay. Although Schatz was going to be fine, he worried about how high his fever was.