The first theme Adam Trask presents to us is one of responsibility. The life lesson Adam develops here is that one should never let anything get in the way of his or her responsibilities. Everyone has duties they need to fulfill; by neglecting them, one my not only harm his or herself, but others surrounding. When Cathy leaves Adam after giving birth, Adam lets the sorrow he feels diminish the importance of any of his responsibilities. With two newborn sons, it is his job to nurture them well; but to him, they serve as a constant reminder of his run-away wife. Adam ignores his sons and does not even name them. If …show more content…
One should always take the advice of another who has more experience than him or her. In the novel, Adam decides that he wants to start a business in selling frozen lettuce. He goes to William Hamilton, an experienced businessman, and asks for his opinion on the idea. William strongly advises Adam not to pursue this because he thinks it will not turn out well. Adam decides to ignore William’s response and goes ahead with his idea. It turns out that Mr. Hamilton was right, and Adam loses a lot of money. Through Adam’s failure, readers realize that it is always better to listen to the guidance of a professional, rather than going off based on his or her own