Devon's Loss In To Kill A Mockingbird

Can’t erase what written in ink. Caitlin and her dad are struggling with coping over the loss of son and brother Devon in the novel “Mockingbird” by Kathryn Erskine. The family that just keeps shrinking is being constantly reminded of Devon. The family is being forced to watch all of the news reports on the school shooter that took Devons life. For Caitlin that is what she strives for but for her dad it is his worst fear. They are put through situations that really emphasizes how they cope with losing Devon. Opening Devons door, going to his funeral and getting back to normal life all led to a compromise between them. They both are struggling to understand each other 's way of thinking, especially since Caitlin as asperger 's. The person

Since Devon died in the shooting his sister Caitlin and his dad have been struggling to see each others point of view when it comes to Devon especially when it comes to his room. “Not since The Day Our Life Fell Apart and Dad slammed Devon’s door shut and put his head against it and cried and said, no no no no no. So I can’t go to my hidey-hole in Devon’s room anymore and I miss it.” (chapter 2 page 1 and 2). Cailtins happy and safe place was Devons room and she still wants to be connected to Devon while her dad needs to stay away from reminders of Devon. Her dad doesn’t want to be sad because he has to look at all of the memories that come along with Devons room. “When I push my head into the soft blue blur of his room I can smell him and feel him and I smile. It’s like pure Devon in here.” (chapter 13 page 2). Caitlin doesn’t see a reason for avoiding Devons memory. Devons room is a very special place for her. It was the place she would go to calm down, and now that Devon is gone she really needs a calming down place. Caitlin misses Devon just as much as anyone else does she wants to be near Devon. She doesn’t want anyone to forget about him. Trying to get her dad to feel the same way about Devons room is the biggest frustration, but everyone has different ways of moving

The memory of Devon was slowly slipping away due to her Dad but Caitlin was not going to let that happen. “It takes Dad a long time to fix the parts that he broke. He scrunches up his face and makes noises like it hurts him as much as the chest. He even says, This is rough, and,‘This is hard.” ' (chapter 29 page 2). Caitlin just needs to feel like Devon is still here but for her dad it hurts to even think of him. As the leader of the family Devon was very talented, he played sports and was a boy scout. He was a very good builder and advanced in boy scouts. He had to finish a chest, the chest brought so much joy to Devon. It was almost finished before the shooting. Looking at the chest gave her dad a lump in his throat thinking of how happy he would have been to finish it. Caitlin just wanted to help him and finish it. Her dad almost knew Caitlin was right for