Summary and Analysis

In "Birds" winter has arrived and with it a feeling of numb indifference to life. The narrator's father Jacob putters around the house fascinated by daily chores and taking no interest in the business, now being run completely by the narrator's mother. The narrator describes the new role that Adela has of controlling Jacob by tickling him. Adela's power of him will become very important as time goes on. The father is harmless at this stage. His insanity has taken him out of human life and made him a spectator, but he enjoys this role, is fascinated by the simplest of things. He has returned to a child like state, even as his own son, the narrator is losing his childhood.

But despite his childish behavior, Jacob does not have a child's mind or troubles. He is still struggling...