Homecoming

Brent gets a chance to visit his home for the weekend. I expected Brent to feel nervous and negative about coming back to the site of the accident. Though Brent shows little emotion as he passes the bathroom. "The thing about being here, the strange thing about being here, is that I hardly ever think about what happened. I mean, I'm sleeping in the room right next to where everything happened, but I'm not even thinking about it." (p. 197) Brent feels confortable being back home even if it is for a few days. Though he is not confortable with himself. He is still self-conscious and finds it difficult to accept his true image. Even confronting people he knows while looking the way he does. "Just walking into a video store, but God, I just thought of something---what if I see someone I know. That would be terrible" (p. 203)

Runyon describes himself as being confortable and confident being back home. Despite his memories of that place he finds it nicer than the Institue. It seems he plays around with the choice of tone. There are parts in which he has an irritated tone: "They're both hugging me, but I didn't want this. I wanted to do something nice, but I didn't want all those tears. God, that's the last time I do something like that."(p. 203) a regretful tone, such as those explained in my previous blogs, and now, during his stay at home, a confident tone: “You would think I would be thinking about those things, but I’m not.” (p. 197)

My prediction of Runyon's change of tone correct. I closely looked how and when he changes it. Now all I have to do is pinpoint what tone he will use for Brent's true homecoming.