Escapism

The escapism demonstrated by the characters within the novel shows the boundaries of what the human spirit and an individual family may withstand. Although Benjamin must principally contend with the discomfort and shock of the journey from the Long Kloof to Knysna, he must also contend with the void that opens in his life when he must leave his family behind, and the internal questioning he will experience until he returns as to whether he is being true to himself. He must also grapple, upon his return to his supposed parents, with the realization that he does not see a place for himself within his new life. The characters must maintain some façade of family life and sanity, contributing all the more to individual delusions of escape and return to an easier way of life or dependence on another person to save them.

Initially, Benjamin...