Loneliness in the Novel Plainsong by Kent Haruf - 610 Words

Plainsong is a novel written by Kent Haruf, that takes place in Holt Colorado. In this book Tom Guthrie is left to take care of his two boys, Ike and Bobby, as a single parent after their mother left them. Victoria Roubideaux grew up without a father figure, her mom kicked her out after she found out she was pregnant and Victoria was left to find somewhere else to live. And the McPheron brothers live out in the country by themselves taking care of their cattle. The theme of this novel is loneliness, every one of these characters are experiencing loneliness throughout this book. Tom Guthrie and his two boys, Ike and Bobby, began the theme of loneliness right from the start when their mother was so depressed and wouldn’t come out of her room. The boys would go to check on her everyday and try to get her to come down stairs even to join the family for dinner but she wouldn’t get out of bed. But the reason Ella, their mother, wouldn’t leave her room because she was in such a state of depression and felt as if she was all alone. Eventually she realized there was nothing her boys could do to make her feel any better so she decided that moving out of the house would be best for all of them. But when she did this they boys felt as if they no longer had a mother, and Tom was left to raising their children all by himself. This sense of loneliness put a strain on everyone in the family; Ike and Bobby continuously asked Tom if their mother was every going to return home. Their fatherShow MoreRelatedEssay about Plainsong by Kent Haruf634 Words   |   3 PagesPlainsong by Kent Haruf Kent Haruf was born and raised on the north east plains of Colorado and attended Nebraska Weslegan University and The University of Iowa. After he graduated he owned a chicken ranch in Colorado, work at the Royal Gorge Bridge and was in the peace corps before he settled down to teach at the University of Iowa. He has had much experience in small town life, which is why his book, Plainsong is so beautifully written. Haruf has first hand experience in the gossip, drama