Escaping the childhood fantasies in “Blackberries”
The age of when innocence and perfected illusions comes to an end is something that cannot be forgotten and changes one’s lifetime. In the short story "Blackberries," written by Leslie Norris, simple everyday events take place, but in truth, can change one's life forever. The story is written in the third person of a young boy who’s experiencing lots of different thoughts and feelings along the twisted road of growing up. Norris depicts a huge character contrast between the young boy's parents, and but still signifies that both parents are helpful, caring, and aiding the child in their own unique way. Whether you have good intentions or not, if executed poorly, will mean nothing and will pave the road to misfortunes and torment, and the fact that seemingly meaningless occasions can affect you as a person or open your mind to a new view at the world is frightening and astounding. At first, all there is to the little boy is a sense of innocence and purity, where nothing goes wrong, and when he can play cheerfully and immaturely, such as where he gets his first haircut and “moved his finger against the inner surface of the sheet and made a six with it, and then an eight” (40), merely because he likes those shapes. He’s nervous, but at the same time well-behaved. The boy has a variety of good traits, like patience, as shown when he “wanted the cap very much, [but still] walked seriously beside his mother and was not impatient even when she met Mrs. Lewis and talked to her, and then took a long time with the potatoes” (41). This also points out that he aims to earn the respect of his mother, through presenting himself as a good child in public. He loves her, and she wants nothing short of perfection in him. The cap is described as beautiful, but a little large and expensive. The mother believes it’ll last a long time and is reluctant, but still willing, to spend the money, showing her dedication to routine. Norris describes a strong relationship with the boy and his father, like in the line “the man [father] lifted the dry gravy with his knife and fed it to his son, very carefully lifting it into the boy’s mouth, as if he were feeding a small bird” (42), comparing the child’s young actions to those of a tiny bird. The boy admires such care, and leans drowsily on the father’s leg, representing his affection and admiration for the father, unlike with his mother, where he has to be on his best behavior. The two go for a walk on Sunday, where they become “men”. The father wants to be alone with his child, without the mother bringing down their enthusiasm for adventure. As they take a walk along Fletcher’s Woods, the child admires at the scenery and immerses in his past memories of how the place used to look, and steadily understands the impact of time. He kicks the seeds off a dandelion, and says they’ll “fly to china” (42), again showing how young he is and how he doesn’t understand reality realistically. The father stumbles and falls into a blackberry bush, and picks some off of the thorny branches. The father would go through thorns just so he could find his child blackberries, strengthening his bond and his devotion to the child. After reassuring that the child could eat it, hinting the trust the child has in his father, the child loves the taste of the fresh blackberries and they have a purple-stained feast. The blackberries could symbolise the parents’ differences; the mother being strict and demanding, the father being carefree and fun, creating irregular and bumpy contrasts, but still have the same warmth and comfort to sooth the child. They suggest bringing some to his mother, but they stain the hat as they use it as a basket. The child thinks it’s a great idea, without thinking of consequences, or of what the cap meant for him or his mother. The father most likely knew, but kept quiet, probably to keep the child’s joyous mood intact, because he never knew
