January by john updike analysis

John Updike’s Oliver’s Evolution

All parents hope that their children grow up and become responsible adults to take care of them once old age strikes. However, they have to show their kids how to be reliable members of the society by taking good care of them. Parents who neglect their children compromise their future well-being as they do not learn the elements of responsibility (Gale). Additionally, neglected children do not get the affection they need to grow well. Their emotional, physical, and psychological growth and development are hindered as they lack some of the basic needs. In John Updike’s story Oliver’s Evolution, Oliver is neglected by his parent, thereby becoming a reckless teenager, but he becomes a person that can be depended upon when he becomes an adult. Children are often neglected by parent’s due to their disability but this does not deter them from being responsible adults.

Notably, Oliver’s Evolution details on the misfortunes of an accident-prone child who was neglected by his parents at a tender age. Updike asserts, “But Oliver had come late in their little pack of offspring, at a time when the challenge of child rearing was wearing thin, and he proved susceptible to mishaps,” (Updike). While it might have been thought that his condition might draw more concern for protection from his parents, they continually abused him through neglect. Considerably, the form of abuse did not manifest physically but more of neglect as they fell short of their parenting duties. Implicitly, his condition made him prone to mishaps that are witnessed in varying occasions. As a young child, he had to wear the casts as both of his legs were turned inwards. He managed to learn how to crawl with the use of the corrective casts that covered his legs up to his ankles. Additionally, his parents had to rush him to the hospital after he put mothballs into his mouth. On a different occasion, he almost drowned after his parents left him at the beach. Evidently, Oliver was prone to accidents, an aspect that was enhanced by his condition. However, his parents had little consideration of his situation as they had lost their patience in child rearing (Tooker, Hofheins, and Waldon). Thus, Oliver encountered neglect from his parents who had lost penitence in their parental role thereby making him susceptible to calamities.

Considerably, Oliver’s parents neglected him, but this was a different kind of abuse as they had meant to love him as their child. “His parents had not meant to abuse him; they had meant to love him, and they did love him,” (Sustana, pg. 9) which implies that Oliver’s parents did not treat him well. They intended to love him but struggled to show the affection. One of the reasons for the neglect was that he was born with turned legs, thus had to crawl with corrective casts. Besides, Oliver was neglected by his parents because he was prone to accidents and was born as the “last pack” when their parental role was oozing patience. However, this does not account for their mistreatments as he deserved to be loved like the other children. It is the parent’s responsibility to take care of their children particularly when they are vulnerable to misfortunes (Madden). Based on his physical condition, the parents had the mandate of loving and caring for his needs rather than neglecting him. Therefore, the parents might have been ashamed of their son’s physical conditions, thus finding it hard to be affectionate to him.

John Updike Writes, “…in retrospect; they wondered if there had been a need to rush him to the hospital and have his poor little stomach pumped,” (Updike). This shows how Oliver’s parents did care about his health. They found him on the floor of their dressing room with a box of mothballs. Some of the mothballs had saliva, a clear indication that he was poisoned. However, the parents do not show any urgency to take him to hospital. They felt there was no need to get him to a healthcare provider. Besides, they left him at the beach alone whereby he almost drowned. Implicitly, Oliver was susceptible to mishaps due to his condition, but his parents did not seem to take it seriously. The different occasions that his parents were reluctant to take the desired actions such as rushing him to the hospital or having him alone in a safe environment is an indication of neglect. Thus, their attitude towards him shows how bad they treated him, and yet he was their son.

While most of the events were simply inevitable, this did not prompt any concern from their parents whose regrets were ineffective. Catharine Sustana quotes Updike by stating "And it happened that he was just the wrong, vulnerable age when his parents went through their separation and divorce," (Sustana, pg. 10). This was another example of a misfortune that took place when Oliver was the center of it all. With the other siblings, away and his young sister finding these new arrangements exciting, Oliver felt the weight of the household falling on him whereby he made his mother’s sense of abandonment feel like his own. At this time, he was thirteen years old but still experienced misfortunes, most of which were beyond his control (Sustana). Continual neglect from his parents might have been enhanced by his physical condition, but this did not deter the fact that they were responsible for subjecting the teen emotional torture.

The observation was that "several family automobiles met a ruinous end with him at the wheel" thereby suggesting that he had no agency at all (Tooker, Hofheins and Waldon, pg. 16). He was not even the ‘subject of the sentence” thereby highlighting that he was not regarded as being someone of importance by his parents. While his parents would often regret their actions, this was ineffective as it did not revert the traumatizing experiences underwent by Oliver. Despite being adults, they still did not acknowledge the level of responsibility bestowed upon them, especially due to Oliver’s physical condition (Sustana). With this, Oliver barely drove the family cars nor his life as he just happened to be the wheel of the accidents, but this did little to elicit concern from his parents.

Eventually, Oliver marries and becomes a responsible man. His wife Alice was a mirror of himself having undergone challenging situations in the past. Updike says, “He is a tree, a sheltering boulder. He is a protector of the weak,” (Updike) to show how Oliver evolved to become reliable. This was despite his parents refusing to nurture him, a situation which led to him to protect those who were neglected. “He believed it was his mandate to show love to those who needed it most, yet he was never fortunate to get it,” (Gale, pg. 16). This is an indication of his transformation from a troubled teenager into a responsible man in the society (Tooker, Hofheins and Waldon). Unlike his parents, he is aware of the fact that he is depended upon by the less fortunate individuals. In this regard, he takes up the stage and becomes a better version of himself. Therefore, Oliver evolved into a firmer, surefooted individual who held up his job as a parent and a “protector of the weak” (Updike) as he understood the necessities of becoming an adult.

Without a doubt, John Updike’s story, Oliver’s Evolution explores the life a man who was neglected by his parents after being born with turned legs. “They did not nurture him to become a responsible man, and yet he was their son, “(Madden, pg. 19). Also, they were not concerned about his health, a view supported by the lack of urgency to take him to the hospital when they found him on the floor of their dressing with mothballs. Nevertheless, Oliver overcame his childhood struggles and transformed to be a responsible man. He becomes the protector of the weak, thus offering his love and care to those who did not get them from their family members. Therefore, Oliver evolved into a firmer, surefooted individual who held up his job as an adult.

Works Cited

Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for John Updike's" Oliver's Evolution". Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016.

Sustana, Catharine. Analysis of 'Oliver's Evolution' by John Updike. Thought Co. 2017.

Madden, Frank. Exploring literature: Writing and arguing about fiction, poetry, drama, and the essay. Pearson Longman, 2009.

Tooker, Dan, Roger Hofheins, and Daniel Waldon. "Gold, and John Updike. Literary Horizons: A Quarter Century of American Fiction. New York: New York University Press, 1970. A collection of essays and book reviews of various authors, including Gold." Critical Survey of Short Fiction (2001): 1033.

Updike, John. "Oliver's Evolution." Esquire 129.4 (1998): 148-148.