Medicine River by Thomas King Book Analysis

In an ideal family, every man has a son they can do masculine activities with. It is common for a father to want to play catch with their boy or to teach them life lessons about being the “man of the house”. Every young boy needs a strong father figure as a role model. However, in the novel “Medicine River” by Thomas King, the main character, Will, misses out on having a father which ultimately affects him in different ways at different periods of time. 

Will grew up in Calgary with his younger brother James, and his mother Rose. Their father, Bob, was not present for their childhood. As a result, Rose decided to move her boys back to Medicine River. On the day of the move, Rose’s brothers came to help them pack. Frank ended up telling Will that he is “the man of house” and that he needs to “look after [his] mother and brother” (8). In a typical family, the father is known for being the man of the house. However, when there is not a father present, the role normally falls onto the oldest boy. In this case, the oldest boy is Will. Despite the role being given to Will, James objects by stating that he “can look after mom too” (8). This led to the overall conflict between Will and James. The absence of a father figure for Will negatively affected his relationship with James. It especially got worse once he moved away to Toronto and Rose became ill. Although Will was supposed to be the man of the house, it was really James who cared for Rose when she was sick. For these reasons, James winds up resenting Will for his absence and for lacking the ability to properly be the man of house. Therefore, Will’s lack of a father figure growing up ultimately leads to a broken relationship with his brother. 

Although Bob’s absence caused a negative effect, Will still gets some positivity out of it through his relationship with South Wing. Louise did not want to get married, let alone stay in the relationship with her baby’s father. Thus, South Wing is born without a father and as a result, Will takes on the role of fatherhood. Since Will grew up without a father, he wanted to make sure that it did not happen to South Wing. In a way, he tries to be there for her to replace the fact that his own father was not there for him. Since Will was at South Wing’s birth, the nurses naturally assumed that he was the father and Louise’s husband. However, he corrects them many times by informing them that he is just a friend. By the end of chapter three, when a nurse asks him which baby is his, he finally answers like her father and says “that one” (35). 

Later in chapter 10, it is South Wing’s first birthday and Harlen takes Will to get a gift for her. They visit Harlen’s grandmother, Martha, who begins to ask Will questions about South Wing and Louise. Martha then tells Will that “that little girl needs a father. You see her born?” (112). Will responds by saying he was at the birth which prompts Martha to ask if he loves her. Will originally said “sure”, but then actually said the words “I love her” (112). Hence,  the absence of his father pushed Will into becoming the dad he never had, for a little girl he never wanted, but ended up loving. 

The lack of a father figure overall had a negative and positive effect for Will. He may have wasted several years on a strained relationship with James, but he still had the opportunity to reconcile with him at the end of the novel. Additionally, Will still somehow managed to become a good “father” to South Wing, despite him not have having a father himself to learn from. Sometimes a father does not need to be a man you are blood related to, but rather a man who is willing to take on the role of the “man of the house”. Will may have failed to execute this role as a child with James, but he made up for it when he finally did take on the role with South Wing.