Paper on "Rule of The Bone" by Russell Banks: The men in his life

Essay by crossoverjshotHigh School, 10th gradeB, September 2007

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The Men of Bone’s LifeThe men in Bone’s life had a drastic influence on his development as a person. The two most significant men in Bone’s life were I-Man, Ken, and Doc. Ken is Bone’s father figure throughout the book while I-Man is the man that seems to free Bone’s soul from captivity. Doc’s influence on Bone is derived from Bone acting differently from the way he acts. He realizes that he must live life in the opposite way that Doc has been living. The influence from Ken and I-Man are extremely diverse. I-Man serves as a mentor to Bone while Ken terrorizes and mistreats Bone. Ken torments Bone throughout his life while I-Man brings Bone contentment and joy. The presence of men in the novel is a topic that can not be disregarded. The actions of these men had a tremendous effect on the person that Bone is ultimately molded in to.

His experiences with the men in his life help him change from a confused kid to a solid person.

The sexual abuse that Ken bestows upon Bone holds Bone under captivity. Bone is haunted and ruled over by this sexual abuse. Ken had little positive influence on Bone’s life. Bone constantly makes references to his experiences with Ken. Bone narrates, “Definitely it was the grossest thing I’d ever seen, at least at that moment it was which is strange I guess because I’d seen lots of really gross things by then.” The sexual abuse theme haunts Bone. He is trapped by what Ken has done to him. Bone’s experience with Ken disenables him from being able to release his demons. Bone is unable to forget the past and move on with the future because of what Ken has done to him. Bone even has difficulty...