As a grocery man, people who once knew him hardly acknowledge his presence or turn away altogether. Ethan’s soul is indeed empty. Thus, he finds solace in his work as a grocery man. By the same token, Ethan appears to need some space and time for himself. He needs to be honest with himself and to have some profound existential moments before he carries on with his life. His crowded life isn’t giving him enough room for himself and to be able to distinguish between right and wrong. In one of his statements, he even appears doubtful “A clerk in a grocery store—Marullo’s grocery store—a man with a wife and two darling children. When is he alone, when can he be alone? Customers in the day time, wife and kiddies in the evening; wife at night, customers
