"My dad thinks it's a good idea to take all the leaves off the tree and rake up the yard. I think he's crazy."
How is this image a commentary on man's natural inclination to maintain complete control over his environment? How does this comical activity reinforce this dad's self image as "master of his domain?" Could you envision the mother performing the same feat?
How might suburbia be viewed as an unnatural, synthetic, purely man-made environment? (Consider the manicured lawns, carefully planted trees and shrubs, manufactured elements, with little left to chance or nature.)
How is man's relationship to his environment different in the suburbs than in the city?
How is the son's reaction to his father's actions typical in terms of the parent-child relationship? Are things much different today?
I can see a relationship between this piece and the piece referring the children dying in Viet Nam. While the mother in that piece feels a sense of loss and inability to cope with her day-to-day life due to the brevity of the world's situation, the father in this piece seems to take an opposite approach to the same unsettled situation. They both could be simply using different coping mechanisms to deal with the same root issue. As opposed to a sense of hopelessness and unwillingness to be a part of anything, this father wants to be a part of everything. Perhaps with great meticulous attention to what he can control, he is given a little release from the weight of what he can't control.
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