Mercy Among The Children Sydney Henderson Character Analysis

Ristic 1
Mia Ristic
Mr. A. Lee
ENG 4U1
Tuesday November 23, 2010
Mercy Among the Children: A Privation of Paternal Protection Throughout the book, Mercy Among the Children, the main character, Sydney Henderson is continuously forced to endure the utter embarrassment of being openly mocked, assaulted and publicly victimized. His innocent children watch wide-eyed, secretly wishing for the day when their father will ultimately confront his tormentors and protect their family—not knowing that this day will never come. As the novel progresses, Sydney continues to fail to do so, his cowardice bringing shame and humiliation to his eldest son, Lyle, who strongly believes his father’s passive nature is the cause behind all their misfortunes.
Failing to defend her honour—as any brave man should—Sydney refrains from reacting, allowing these men to publicly humiliate him and his family. The relationship between Sydney and his son is strained for the first time as Lyle—though still a only young boy—is ashamed of his father and his lack of response as he says “[Sydney] stopped and waited, smiling at me. I pretended I didn’t see him. For the first time I did not run to catch up, and for the first time I never took his offered hand” (Richards 54). Through saying this, Lyle shows the resentment he feels towards his father despite his best intentions, and begins to consciously alienate himself— the feeling of shame too deep to ignore. As Lyle gets older, his hostility towards his father intensifies, strongly believing Sydney’s failure to protect his family equates to Sydney, ultimately, failing him as a father. Longing for a father which will provide his family with comfort and security, Lyle says “My hope was also—if for self-preservation or honour I do not know—that my father would die, and Jay Beard would become my father” (Richards 176). As Lyle says this he displays his inability to look past his father’s meek, accepting nature, blinded by his own thirst for revenge and resentment of Sydney’s lack thereof. Despite Sydney
Both children struggle to find any means necessary to overcome the hardships associated with being labeled the laughing stocks of their small town. As the family slowly begins to learn how to cope, Lyle’s anger takes control as he begins to manage the only way he knows how: through casting the blame on his father. Though Lyle is aware how little control his father has over their circumstances, he says “And in a real way it didn’t matter that my father had caused nothing. I should not be so quick to forgive him just because he had caused nothing. Because in another way, his inaction had caused it all—all the misery forced upon us was caused because he elected to be passive” (Richards 186). Through saying this, Lyle displays his inability to forgive his father and his willingness to allow their already damaged relationship to be further threatened by the afflictions brought on by the community. As the novel progresses, Lyle slowly begins to understand Sydney’s lack of response is not for a lack of courage, but for an excess of devotion to truth and morals as he says “I began to understand what my father had been fighting all his life. Not that power was not in him, but that, like all mankind, it was. But he fought it!” (Richards 211). This reveals Lyle’s final comprehension