Character Analysis: We Live In Water By Jess Walter

My whole life I have heard that it was never too late to do the right thing, and that is the exact principal Jess Walter uses in his collection of short stories, We Live in Water, as he shares the stories of men struggling in society. In this collection, each character faces his own set of obstacles where he decides between right and wrong. In “Anything Helps” Bit is evicted out of his halfway home, Jesus Beds, and conceives the idea that buying the Harry Potter book for his son’s birthday will make up for his son residing in foster care. In “Brakes” Tommy faces his step-father’s death and uses it to serve as a reminder of the example he leaves his son as he puts a stop to taking advantage of an elderly woman. In “Statistical Abstracts for

In “Anything Helps”, Bit hears the story of his son wanting desperately to read the new Harry Potter book and his unstable mind clings to the idea that the book is the key to repairing his relationship with his son who is currently residing in foster care. To him, the book symbolizes his last chance to fix his relationship with his son, and by working in non-traditional ways to receive the book, he feels he is doing the right thing after all, despite the heartache he has given his son. But feels guilty for the drug addiction him and his wife suffered from that led to his son being taken away along with the death of his wife. But discovers his son’s desire to read the book after his son briefly writes to him in a postcard, complaining how his foster parents prohibit him from reading Harry Potter. Bit and his late wife often read the series to their son while he was growing up. Readers can infer this is why Bit clings to the book as his second chance, he uses the sentimental attachment his son has in his favor to

He leaves work and takes his son along to attend the funeral, except when he returns to work he notices the frequent elderly customer once again in the lobby of the mechanic shop. The shop manager often takes advantage of a mentally-ill, elderly woman who constantly insists there is an issue with her car, where the mechanics simply take the tires down, make some noise, and pocket the extra money. Given how Tommy is contemplating his character in light of his step father’s death, Tommy feels as if he must put a stop to this greedy, corrupt behavior at once. When confronting his boss about the fraudulent behavior taking place in the mechanic shop, he is setting the example for others that it’s not too late to change and do the right thing in life. Little to his knowledge, his son is following him and seeing how Tommy confronts his boss. Tommy then sits down in a comforting manner with the elderly woman to discuss that there is indeed nothing wrong with her car and she is safe. He even goes as far as to track down her niece to have her niece help the elderly woman. Not only does Tommy refuse to do the wrong thing, he goes above and beyond to do the right thing; Readers see this when he refuses to service a working vehicle, calmly explains to her she is safe, and