Essay on The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

In Steven Herrick's text The Simple Gift, Herrick provides numerous language techniques to demonstrate his ideas and beliefs about belonging such as characters and relationships, symbolism, and place and setting. All of which conclude evidence and explanation to Herrick's point in which that belonging can change a person for better or for worse, whether that may be the influence of a person or a place.

All three characters Billy, Caitlin, and bill have changed their habits, values, ideas, and ethics caused by the influence of each other. Steven Herrick portrays this idea throughout the novel, that where you find belonging, it can change you whether it's good or bad. From the moment Billy, Caitlin, and Old Bill met each other, their whole dynamic changed dramatically due to their involvement in each other's lives and influence, allowing them to develop into better people. Each character had their dynamic, how Billy was rather angry, did not follow the rules, gloomy, pessimistic, and negative kid, whereas once he arrived In Benderat and met Caitlin and Old Bill, he grew into a responsible, hard-working, optimistic, bright, appreciative young man. Caitlin's entire life, she never felt as though she belonged anywhere, or with anyone, until she met Billy, at the start she was rather judgmental and pretentious, but after meeting Billy and Old bill, she became much more open-minded, loyal, and discovered what mattered underneath instead of judging from the first glance of what she saw on the outside. Old Bill was first to be portrayed as some average old drunken hobo on the street, he had multiple bad habits such as being drunk constantly causing him to be grumpy, did not care for his well-being or having any responsibility, but by spending every day with Billy, he gradually stopped drinking as much and soon stopped drinking completely, he got a job, leaves the freight yard to travel to Queensland, and learned to love again.

In the novel The Simple Gift, alcoholism has played a large role in the story of Billy’s father, and Old Bill. Although both characters neither have any similarities except for how alcohol has drastically changed their entire person. Specific quotes from the book which Billy has said such as “See ya dad. I’ve taken the alcohol.” And “he’d be sober because I stole his beer” these allude the reader into believing that his father acts differently when not under the influence of alcohol hence why Billy stole his alcohol, not because he wanted his father to be angrier, but because he may be less abusive, aggressive, grumpy etc. This is the same case with Old Bill, not that he is at all like Billy’s father, but alcohol has the same effect on both. Old Bill tends to be much less motivated to do anything, is grumpy, depressed, does not care for anything, is slightly selfish etc. Once Billy and Old Bill met and quickly became friends, Old Bill started to drink less due to a newfound friend that made him feel as though he belonged. When they met on the railway track, Billy knew he was a drunk like his father, and started to look after him just like he had to do with his father. Billy had not shown that he made a connection with the two, but you could see as the reader he felt a clear instinct to take care of Old Bill. As Old Bill and Billy grew closer, Old Bill gradually drank less and less which affected his moods and traits drastically and resulted in him starting to create a better life and environment for himself. Both men drank to escape their realities, feelings, and memories. With Old Bill, he drank excessively because of the loss of his daughter Jessie, and wife, the two people that were his entire world. After their deaths, he experienced a great downfall and lost his job and could not even bring himself to step foot inside their old house ever again. Because of Billy’s absent mother, it’s easy to assume Billy’s father may drink because of the event which is why Billy’s mother is not in their lives whether that may be that she died or that she just is not in the picture anymore. This leads the reader to assume to believe both drink because they have lost their sense of belonging and are unsure how to aid and heal the events of their pasts therefore, they turn to alcohol which numbs their feelings and thoughts.

The place and setting in The Simple Gift determined and changed the character's entire personas, moods, values, ethics, etc. Herrick uses this technique throughout the entire novel to further demonstrate his theme of belonging. This shows that belonging is not always discovered in people, sometimes it’s found in places. Right from the start, of chapter one, when Billy lived in Nowheresville, the tone of the text was consistently gloomy, monotone, and pessimistic. He acted out, made careless decisions, had no hope for himself in that town, and was not motivated to better himself, whereas all of that changed the moment he arrived in Benderat. Billy grew to be fond of this new town, and he was optimistic and motivated towards making a life for himself there. Billy got himself a job at the local cannery farm with Old Bill, was open to meeting new people and letting them get close to him, and day by day, he made efforts towards creating a better life in Benderat for himself.

Herrick demonstrates his ideas and beliefs about belonging and its effects of it through three different language techniques that have proven his point perfectly by the tone of the text, and evidence of character growth and development throughout the novel. These have portrayed Herrick’s ideas quite obviously to the reader, as he makes them such dramatic and large underlying aspects of the way the text was written to further illustrate the effects of belonging.