Beyond By Lois Lowry Analysis

“Son” Essays
The main conflict in “Beyond,” the third part in Lois Lowry’s “Son,” is both internal and external because Gabe, the protagonist, is longing to understand his past, but, in order to do that, he must face external challenges. Gabe spends many years wondering about his past and starts searching for his mother, from whom he was separated at his birth. Attempting to find his mother, Gabe makes a boat to search in villages along the river. Learning his mother’s identity at the same time that he learns she is dying, he also finds out that his mother traded her youth for the ability to continue her journey to find him. She will only be able to live if Gabe kills Trademaster, evil in human form. When Gabe confronted Trademaster, Gabe described him as: “He was the force of evil, of all evil for all time” (Lowry, 387).
“He was not a man but simply disguised as one” (Lowry, 387).
In this quote, Gabe describes Trademaster, evil in the form of man, after he has used his powers to understand Trademaster and figure out a way to kill him. Gabe realizes he can destroy the evil spirit by only informing the evil spirit he is not actually ruining people’s lives by granting them a wish in return for their youth, personalities or vital body parts. When Gabe tells Trademaster that people who have interacted with him are continuing to live on happily, Trademaster dies. This confrontation is significant because it is the supreme ordeal in the story; it is the biggest dangerous challenge for Gabe and is a life or death moment. Gabe faces Trademaster’s weapons, yet he overcomes the fear and diminishes
Trademaster.
“It’s going to be up to you, then. You must destroy him” (Lowry, 343). In this quote, Jonas, the man who saved Gabe as a child, instructs Gabe that his job is to destroy the human form of evil, Trademaster. Years ago, Jonas ejected Trademaster from his village, yet he is still present in other villages and affecting others’ lives. This quote demonstrates the second stage of the hero’s journey, the Call to Adventure, because Gabe is called to kill Trademaster and must begin his journey. This scene also demonstrates a theme of relationships in the book because Gabe is instructed by his fatherly figure, Jonas, to proceed on a dangerous journey. “He realized that tonight would not be the night of her death after all” (Lowry, 392). In this quote, Gabe has terminated Trademaster and returned home to his village. Upon his arrival, Claire, his mother who was dying because she traded her youth for the ability to enter the village, was no longer going to die because Trademaster was vanquished and her youth was reappearing. This is significant because it resolves two of the main conflicts for Gabe, needing to kill Trademaster and saving his mom from dying. Another significance of this scene is that it demonstrates the theme of love in the story because Gabe risked his life to save his mom from dying. “Claire gave birth to you. You were the only child she ever had” (Lowry, 356). In this quote, Jonas, while comforting Claire as she is dying, informs Gabe that she is his mother and up to this point, Gabe is unaware that Claire is his mother. With this news Gabe also gets a task from Jonas: killing Trademaster’s soul. This is the turning point in the story, “Beyond,” because Gabe’s focus turns from looking for his unknown mom to destroying an evil spirit that threatens his found mother. This is also displays character vs. self because the mission Gabe must act on is very risky and could kill him.