Theme of Homelessness in The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick Essay Example

One of Herrick’s main themes in his verse novel “The Simple Gift’ is homelessness. Herrick displays that there is more to a homeless person than that they are just a “homeless bum”. Herrick demonstrates his message about homelessness throughout the novel from the point of view of two homeless men. Billy, a 16-year-old boy who has run away from his abusive alcoholic father, which is revealed early in the novel. The poem “sport” Herrick has used imagery to give us an insight into the kind of environment that Billy has had to live and deal with over the past 6 years, which is noticeable in this quote; “he gave me one hard backhander across the face, so hard I fell down as much in shock as anything, and I felt the blood.” Old Bill, an older man who’s grief has consumed him so much that it has forced him into being homeless. Old Bill can not step foot inside his house in Bendarat after the loss of his daughter Jesse when she fell out of a tree “And I fell with her, and I've been falling ever since”. Herrick uses the motif of houses and homes to convey the theme of homelessness even more. Herrick explains this motif by showing how we need a home as a part of our well-being and quality of life. Even though Billy and Old Bill are technically homeless, they have created a somewhat ‘home’ in the old train carriages “Carriage 1864, painted red and yellow, my motel Bendarat”. Towards the end of the novel, Herrick starts to reveal that Old Bill has not always been an old, drunken homeless man, “I worked in town. I dressed in suit and tie. I understood the law. I earned a lot of money”. This quote supports Herrick’s message that there is more to a homeless person than that they are a “homeless bum”.

Another central theme portrayed in the verse novel is stereotypes and how stereotypes are proved wrong once you get to know the person; therefore everyone has a story. Herrick shows this theme throughout the novel in many situations, such as the look Billy received when he was ordering at McDonalds, “Everyone working here is my age except this lady who looks at me as if I'm diseased for ordering only a drink”. In this metaphor used by Herrick, it shows that Billy ordered just one drink and was stereotyped by his appearance and his socioeconomic status. Another example of stereotypes in the novel is when Billy first meets Caitlin. He stereotyped her from her “Bouncing, shiny and clean hair'' and the watch that she was wearing. These features then supported Billy's presumptions that Caitlin would be a stuck up rich girl who would treat him terribly and act in total disgust towards him. Caitlin then further into the novel proves this statement and stereotype inaccurate by showing acts of kindness towards Billy. Caitlin opens up to Billy about her parents and gives insight to what she wants in life. This then further proves to Billy that Caitlin is not like how he stereotyped her, this also supports Herrick’s message in this theme that everyone has a story. 

Herrick has used the theme of relationships throughout the verse novel strongly and has incorporated many different types of relationships. An example of one is the abusive relationship between Billy and Billy's dad. Their difficult relationship has affected Billy in more ways than just physical as it has also created a mental effect for Billy. This is shown when Billy is on the train running away from his home “I realise how fast trains go.. the wind hits you in the face with the force of a fathers punch”. This metaphor shows the mental affect the abuse has had on Billy; this has further led to Billy isolating himself and has created trust issues for Billy.