Andrew Hopkins kidnapped his daughter 28 years ago. His daughter Delia has now come to learn the startling truth, as a thirty-two year old mother of Sophie, who is of the same age as Delia when Andrew kidnapped her. Delia comes to find out throughout the book that her parents, Andrew and Elise, divorced when she was very young and her mother got custody. Her mother neglected her due to her alcoholism and during Elise’s blackouts, her boyfriend Victor would sexually abuse Delia. When Andrew learned of the horrors taking place in Delia’s life he kidnapped her and brought her to New Hampshire to raise her by himself. This passage is him talking to Delia in his mind while he is in prison awaiting his trial. In Vanishing Acts, Jodi Picoult expertly conveys the human confusion about what actions in life are deemed good, and what actions are doomed to remain evil no matter the circumstance. The chosen passage above best highlights that confusion, as Andrew reflects on his choices and how those choices have impacted those he cares for the most. The kidnapping of “Bethany Mathews” unintentionally shapes the lives and interactions of Andrew Hopkins and Delia Hopkins, as they examine the good, the bad, and the ugly of those close to them. …show more content…
This quick decision impacts how Andrew will forever view himself. He is no longer the doting father who sees his child every other weekend, but instead is a kidnapper who deserves to be compared to the likes of a rapist. In Andrew’s mind it does not matter that he has done hundreds of hours of community service for his town, raised a great daughter as a single parent, and is now helping her out with her own child. Andrew may have been hypothetically talking to Delia but his comparisons of killers and rapists was chillingly similar to the events of his prior