33
33 When David and his family are enjoying their holiday in a beach, David finds
Norah, his wife, having an affair with Howard, a man they meet in the beach. David makes a choice to leave Howard’s cottage where Norah and Howard’s
laughter fill the air with Norah’s clothes scattered. David goes back to their family’s cottage and works with the photos. He says nothing about Howard to
Norah. His darker secret about Phoebe, his daughter with Down syndrome, is David’s reason to keep silent about Norah’s affair para. 259. That David is a
calm man is seen through his way of responding situations above.
4. Secretive
David is a secretive man. He grows up in a poor and uneducated family. He has hard past life, but he never tells anyone about all his past life. He keeps
silent for some parts of his life. He tells Norah some pieces of his difficult past, his parents and their hard work to earn money, his effort to afford the school fee,
and his sister who dies at her twelve year of age. He tells no one, even Norah, that the death of his beloved sister is caused by heart defect. He also tells no one that
his sister has Down syndrome as she is born. The death of his sister remains grieves for the family which cause his mother and his father’s death a year later.
“My parents love being outside,” he added. “My mother planted flowers everywhere. There was a cluster of jack-in-the-pulpit by the stream up
from our house.” “Yes,” he said nodding. “That’s true. They were proud and sorry both.
They didn’t like the city. They only visited me once in Pittsburgh.”…”After my father died, my mother went to live with her
sister in Michigan. She wouldn’t fly, and she never learned to drive. I only saw her once after that.” p. 143
When he tells about his parents, he thinks of his beloved sister, June. He
thinks of the family’s sadness without June with them, but he says nothing about
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
34
34 June and his family’s grieves because of the death of June. When he is telling
Norah about his parents, his mind flies away remembering a moment when they are sitting in David’s single student room. His mother is startled every time a train
whistle sounded. June, the centre of all their lives has died. After June dies, they do not know what to do with themselves without June to take care for para. 143.
David keeps all the memories of June in his mind, and he does not share them to Norah.
David also tells Paul about his family. David tells Paul that his sister dies because of a heart defect para. 279. He tells Paul how hard their lives are. He
also tells Paul about June who is very good at singing. “’My mother, Paul, your grandmother. She had a hard life. I had a sister, did you know that? Her name
was June. She was good at singing, at music, just like you’ “p. 359. In fact,
David never tells about June who has Down syndrome. David is a secretive man. He keeps his secret of his sister with Down
syndrome and the family’s grieves because of June’s death. Then, David keeps secret out from Norah that her daughter has Down syndrome. He asks Caroline,
the nurse who helps him, to keep the daughter with Down syndrome into another room so that Norah does not know. “’All right. Clean her up, please,’ he said,
releasing the slight weight of the infant into the nurse’s arms. ‘But keep her in the other room. I don’t want my wife to know. Not right away’” p. 23.
David asks Caroline to take the baby to an institution. Instead of saying to Norah that the daughter has Down syndrome and is sent to an institution, David
tells Norah that their daughter dies when she is born.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
35
35 “My darling,” he began. His voice broke, and the words he had rehearsed
so carefully were gone. He closed his eyes, and when he could speak again more words came, unplanned.
“Oh, my love,” he said. “I am sorry. Our little daughter died as she was born.”p. 25
He keeps this secret until his death except to Rosemary, a pregnant girl
who meets him in his parents’ old house. He tells Rosemary that he has a daughter named Phoebe. He has not seen her since the day she is born because he gives the
daughter away. Phoebe has Down syndrome which means she is retarded. He says to Rosemary that he never tell this to anyone para. 344-345.
David has ever tried to tell the secret. He writes a letter to Caroline, the nurse who finally takes care of Phoebe. He asks Caroline to let him meet Phoebe
and let Phoebe meet his brother, Paul. “I would like very much to meet Phoebe, he wrote. I would like her to know her brother, and for him to know her” p. 259.
Instead of answering David’s request, Caroline doesn’t write David back. When David holds a photography exhibition in Pittsburgh, Caroline makes
herself bravely meet David. Caroline gets herself there to talk to David that she is afraid of losing Phoebe. She is afraid that David will take Phoebe away if David
meets Phoebe. Caroline has created in her mind her own prediction of David‘s taking Phoebe away after David meets Phoebe although David says that he does
not have that kind of intention. It is also the reason why Caroline stop writing letters to David para. 314.
Rosemary, the one to whom David tells his secret, suggests David to tell Norah and Paul about the secret. She says that Norah should know about Phoebe.
Rosemary says, “’… The thing is, I used to like that: feeling special because I
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
36
36 knew something no one else did. It’s a kind of power, isn’t it, knowing a secret?
But lately I don’t like it so much, knowing this. It’s not really mine to know, is it?’” p. 401. David is not able to tell the truth although Rosemary has suggested
it. David is doubtful to tell Norah about Phoebe. He is afraid of losing Norah and Paul as he tells the truth. “He had never been able to tell her the truth, knowing he
would lose her entirely-and perhaps Paul too-if he did” p. 394. Once he tries to tell the truth to Norah. He thinks that Norah should know
the truth. He will go to their old house and tell Norah although he cannot imagine how Norah will respond. When he arrives at the house, he starts to write on a
paper. He writes that their daughter does not die. Caroline Gill has taken her and raised her in another city. In fact, he crosses out and writes that he gives away
their daughter. Again, he crosses out para. 408-411. Then, he fixes the faucet and puts a hope that Norah will be happy with the faucet. He finally writes that he
fixes the faucet. “I fixed the bathroom sink, he wrote. Happy Birthday” p. 412. The secret is still with him.
5. Griefful
