Depression is a psychological issue that takes time to fix—a wife and kids are not the solution. Loomis, a father and ex-husband, struggles with his mental health and has always been agonizingly aware of his despair. He tries medication, and therapy, and even sees a psychologist, however, none of these solutions aid him in finding joy. After many attempts to find a source of happiness, he concludes marrying and having a child will bring some hope to his life. Eventually, he cheats on his wife and finds himself flying to Southern California every three weeks to stay at the same cheap motel and visit his son. While Loomis exercises his visitation hours with his son, he tries to analyze his mental health problems and figure out some sources of happiness. Through specific passages, Brad…show more content… Through tone, the reader can obtain a better grasp of Loomis as a character and how he feels about happiness in the pertinence of his life. Watson depicts Loomis’s son throughout the text on several occasions, emphasizing a failed attempt at conventional happiness. During the visit, when Loomis and his son are purchasing food, Loomis looks at his son and thinks how “the boy looked just like his mother”. Thick bright orange hair, untamable” (Watson 4). Loomis previously stated he thought marrying and raising a child would give him conventional happiness. When he looks at his son, he is reminded of his wife, who has the same hair, and is prompted to think of the jovial life he thought he would be living. He describes the orange hair, shared by his wife and son, as untamable, similar to his emotional connection with them. Although Loomis tries to be a satisfactory father, he still only sees his son once every three weeks. Their relationship is far from steady and complete. When Loomis goes to pick up his son, he peers into the house and his former wife is always out of
