Summary Of This Boy's Life By Tobias Wolff

Tobias Wolff’s memoir ‘This Boy’s Life’ explores the encounters and experiences an impressionable teenager can go through whilst developing to adulthood, particularly at a time where teenagers were exposed to cultures of rebellion. Although Toby/Jack meets several people in his life who have influenced him, Toby/Jack soley confines in himself and a select few, alongside his Mother Rosemary. Individuals in Toby/Jack’s life such as his Mother, Mr Howard and Geoffrey present to Toby/Jack a sense of trust and reliability through their positive belief in him, however Toby/Jack also depends on himself through his imagination and underlying reality. Rosemary consistently being present through Toby/Jack’s life is a significant figure in his life whom

Even though Toby/Jack does not honestly entrust Rosemary with his thoughts and struggling identities, his Mother believes and has strong ‘faith’ in him implying that regardless of how Toby/Jack acts or seems like, his Mother will be on his side adding to the reliability that Toby/Jack has for his Mother. Marian views Toby/Jack as ‘not being the gentlemen’ he sets himself up to be, emphasising the trust that Rosemary has in Toby/Jack. Despite the negative views that Rosemary’s friends have about her son, she constantly rebuttals and protects her son. In doing so, Toby/Jack acknowledges the effort Rosemary goes through to protect what she believes is true, in which contributes to the reliability of his Mother. As Rosemary is exposed to men, her night outs with various men make Toby/Jack anxious as he notes that he ‘sleeps[ed] badly’ whilst she is out with Gil, this indicates that without Rosemary

Through Toby/Jack’s adolescence, positive figures in his life are not frequently present, however in relation to his abusive step-father, Geoffrey offers Toby/Jack a sense of escape by noting he ‘had got to get out of there’ implying that Geoffrey cares for him to a much greater extent than Toby/Jack had known, creating an idea that Geoffrey is someone who Toby/Jack can trust.Through the period of time where families were expected to be completed with the sterotypical older sibling, and Mother and Fathe family ,Toby/Jack’s genuine regard towards Geoffrey is supported when he notes that he ‘misses[ed]’ his brother implying that Toby/Jack’s deeper feelings towards his desires in a family combined with Geoffreys care for him, creates the brotherly bond of reliance Toby/Jack feels. In addition, Geoffrey has belief in Toby/Jack as it is shown that he expresses that he has ‘something in mind’ for Toby/Jack’s possible future, indicating that Geoffrey has positive faith within Toby/Jack and the potential he could essentially display later in life, this gives Toby/Jack hope and aspiration for his life, and in which doing so presents his dependency on Geoffrey, and relying on him to support him in his struggling development into adulthood. Alongside, Geoffrey Mr Howard is an important