World Without Father (Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Colins Book Analysis)

In Suzanne Colins first series, Gregor the Overlander, we read as our young protagonist struggles in a new world against giant rats, bats, cockroaches, and oh so much more. While doing all these triumphant feats, Gregor is only the astounding age of 11 years old. Gregor’s dad vanishing from his life was the biggest thing to ever happen to him, this is important because it shaped everything else in his life including but not limited to, his living situation, his responsibilities, and his mental state, to allow him to survive and accomplish any of the things that happen throughout the whole series. This forces Gregor to become without knowing it, the exact thing the Underland needs, a warrior.

It is no secret in The Underland Chronicles that Gregor’s life has not been easy. He and his family, which consist of his mother, his two little sisters, and grandma, all must live off his mother’s income due to his father vanishing. This shortage of money which must be spread out enough to allow all five of them to survive, leaves Gregor’s family in a very poor state of living. Their clothes are old, turned gray due to how long they have worn them. Gregor’s shorts are “just his winter pants cut off at the knees.” (6) because his mother alone cannot make enough to buy everyone new clothes, so they had to resort to cutting off his winter pants in order to save money. They live in what appears to be a very cheap apartment complex in which his two-year-old sister, Boots, shares a room with her older sister and grandma which is in, “The only air-conditioned room in the apartment.” (2) Outside he can see kids playing around in the trash can, for lack of better toys and games. Gregor is old enough to understand their financial struggles and learned to live and deal with not having it as well off as other people.

Gregor for as long as his father vanished more than two years ago, has ended up having to take on the duties of a caretaker. He has had way more responsibility than any other nine-year-old should have. His mother, who must stay out late every day in order to make up for the lack of a second income and keep her family from becoming homeless, puts Gregor in the position to ensure that everyone else in his family while she is gone, is taken care of. His grandmother is suffering from the onset of Alzheimer’s, calls Gregor different names and appears to be not even aware of where she is. His two sisters, one who is only two years old, and the other who would have been 5 at the time of his father’s disappearance, are not old enough to take care of themselves. So, Gregor is the one who must change Boot’s Diapers, make sure everyone has food, and take care and deal with the harsh reality that is where and how they are currently living. He is seen in the beginning of the book sacrificing going to a summer camp, something that he wishes he could go to, like a normal kid who doesn’t have to worry about all the brutal he does, in order to make sure that his siblings get to have as much as a normal life as he wishes he has. Being able to do and make all of these sacrifices for his family, at the age of eleven is something that most kids don’t have the maturity and heart to do. Gregor however, is far from a normal kid.

“And after he gets home I can take him-“Gregor said aloud, and then stopped himself, He was about to break the rule.” (8,9) Being a child and having your father disappear, and being dragged into a world of responsibilities, cheap apartments, and self-sacrifices cannot be an easy thing to go through. Being thrown into this world of heartbreak and struggle, you go through so many emotions and thoughts that it could seem overwhelming for anyone, no matter their age. Eleven-year-olds do not yet have the skills in order to deal with these emotions in a healthy way. This has led Gregor to completely block out any thought of what he will do once his dad comes back, which he assumes will happen at any moment, which ends up meaning he doesn’t think about the future at all. Instead, he focuses on what he needs to do in order to keep himself and his family alive, fed, and somewhat sane. He has taken on a new maturity and forced to grow up at an alarming rate and deal with real world serious problems, like poverty and hunger and Alzheimer’s. Gregor cannot physically bring himself to think about or talk to his dad otherwise it will drive him crazy, and he needs to be strong and not weak in order to take care of the people in his life who need him and depend on him to be strong, not just his sisters and grandma, but his mother too. She needs Gregor as much as Boots to be strong otherwise nobody will be home to make sure they are okay, if Gregor couldn’t take care of the rest of his family and mature fast enough to stay calm, she couldn’t work as much as she does and they might not even have an apartment to stay in.

Growing up at a young age without a father, without knowing what happened, and without having him in your life is one of the hardest things for somebody like Gregor. It changed the way his whole childhood went, and ended up changing his maturity, and the way he sees life. Leading him to develop and take on the important skills that are required to survive in the Underland. In the future once he finds this strange new world, he is very quick to adapt and be accepting of the new rules and reality that is placed upon him. He is understanding of the different people, no matter their differences due to his maturity at such a young age. Due to everything he has been through he is able to stay calm when faced with immense danger, prepare food in order to stay alive while on his journey, and most importantly rescue his father, in hopes that maybe now everything can go back to normal and the way it should be, so they can all live a normal life.