Hopelessness

The theme of hopelessness pervades this story in a variety of ways. Some of these include symbolism, imagery that depicts the atmosphere of the trailer park, and character development. In essence, the relationships, characters, and settings all connote a strong sense of hopelessness throughout the story.

It is important to first establish the trailer park as the primary symbol of hopelessness in this story. One way in which Banks explores this is through the narration. For example, when the narrator describes the daily events of the trailer park residents, the narrator remarks that all of the residents who were employed, such as “the nurse, the bank teller” (95), left the trailer park “to go to their jobs in town” (95). The fact that all of the residents who have some form of meaningful employment depart the trailer park every day suggests that there are no residents left to...