A Child Burned
Brian Schaaf
Pactor
ENC 1143
July 14, 2013
A Child Burned
What would you do if your baby boy was suddenly drenched in boiling hot water? When you do everything for your child, but you just aren’t fast enough? In David Foster Wallace’s “Incarnations of Burned Children,” the author walks us through a situation from the father’s—the “Daddy’s”—point of view. We are shown, though the Daddy’s eyes, how the events unfold, how his quick instinctive actions, but lack of thought, contribute to the tragic outcome, and how the he realizes that his mistakes may have worsened his baby’s injury.
The story begins with the Daddy responding to his baby’s screams, and piecing together the evidence that a boiling pot of water has just tipped over on the child. As he takes in the scene, “the Daddy 's first act was to take the child under the arms and lift him away from [the water] and take him to the sink” (Wallace 706), as compared to the mother, who stands completely still. We watch through the Daddy’s eyes as he does what any good father would do: rushes to his son, quickly assesses the situation, and takes decisive action. The pace at which the Daddy moves is a recurring theme. The author tells us that, “He could move fast” (705), but describes, “The Daddy moving quickly and well and his man 's mind empty of everything but purpose” (706), showing that perhaps he moves too fast and without enough thought.
As the Daddy tries to soothe his child, pouring cold water on his burns, we see him focus on taking whatever steps he believes are necessary to save and heal the baby. He continues “moving quickly” (706), but his “man’s mind” (706), remains unable to recognize the cause of his baby’s continued screams. Again, we see that the Daddy is trying as fast as he can to help his son; putting everything else aside, but failing, in his eagerness to help, to properly assess the situation.
At the climax of the story, the author shows us, in the same sentence, the source of the
Pactor
ENC 1143
July 14, 2013
A Child Burned
What would you do if your baby boy was suddenly drenched in boiling hot water? When you do everything for your child, but you just aren’t fast enough? In David Foster Wallace’s “Incarnations of Burned Children,” the author walks us through a situation from the father’s—the “Daddy’s”—point of view. We are shown, though the Daddy’s eyes, how the events unfold, how his quick instinctive actions, but lack of thought, contribute to the tragic outcome, and how the he realizes that his mistakes may have worsened his baby’s injury.
The story begins with the Daddy responding to his baby’s screams, and piecing together the evidence that a boiling pot of water has just tipped over on the child. As he takes in the scene, “the Daddy 's first act was to take the child under the arms and lift him away from [the water] and take him to the sink” (Wallace 706), as compared to the mother, who stands completely still. We watch through the Daddy’s eyes as he does what any good father would do: rushes to his son, quickly assesses the situation, and takes decisive action. The pace at which the Daddy moves is a recurring theme. The author tells us that, “He could move fast” (705), but describes, “The Daddy moving quickly and well and his man 's mind empty of everything but purpose” (706), showing that perhaps he moves too fast and without enough thought.
As the Daddy tries to soothe his child, pouring cold water on his burns, we see him focus on taking whatever steps he believes are necessary to save and heal the baby. He continues “moving quickly” (706), but his “man’s mind” (706), remains unable to recognize the cause of his baby’s continued screams. Again, we see that the Daddy is trying as fast as he can to help his son; putting everything else aside, but failing, in his eagerness to help, to properly assess the situation.
At the climax of the story, the author shows us, in the same sentence, the source of the
Cited: Wallace, David Foster. “Incarnations of Burned Children.” The Ecco Anthology of Contemporary American Short Fiction. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. New York: Harper Collins, 2008. 705 - 708. Print.