The Character Analysis Of Howard Wakefield By Mr. L. Doctorow

Howard Wakefield’s life is seemingly perfect in all regards. A stable job at a respected law firm, a lovely home, and a beautiful family. Yet, he is clearly unhappy with the monotonous routine that plagues his daily life. In Doctorow’s version of the short story, the narrator is Mr. Wakefield and as a result, the reader understands his reasoning in deciding to leave his wife and children. The reader is given insight about Wakefield’s unsatisfying marriage and the irritation he expresses due to his structured life. In this sense, Howard Wakefield holds the mindset of many individuals who desperately yearn for a more simplistic way of life. However, this desire is taken to an extreme when he begins living in the family attic above his
The key scenes employed by E.L. Doctorow to emphasize the notion that Wakefield is a relatable and appreciable character are the description of Howard’s life following his first night in the attic, the pride he showcases in his new lifestyle, and the relationship he develops with Dr. Sondervan’s patients Herbert
By juxtaposing the image of the dark garage and the natural beauty within his yard, the reader is left with the perception that Howard Wakefield has experienced a rebirth. This distinction stresses the idea that Wakefield was walking blindly through life and now suddenly he has found clarity. Wakefield describes,
“For the first time, it seemed, I understood the green glory of this acreage as something indifferent to human life and quite apart from the Victorian manse set upon it. The sun was not yet up and the grass was draped with a wavy net of mist, punctured here and there with glistening drops of dew. White apple blossoms had begun to appear in the old tree, and I read the pale light in the sky as the shy illumination of a world to which I had yet to be introduced”