The son

As opposed to the man, the boy is mainly characterized through his physical appearance and not his thoughts or feelings, which means that his outer characteristics play a greater role than his inner ones.

The very first description we get of the boy is an indirect one: “[The father] looked over at the miniature jeans, the sweatshirt bunched beneath the seat belt’s strap, the hiking boots dangling off the floor” (ll. 7-8). Defining words such as “the boy” or “his son” have not been used yet, which means that our first impression of this character is based on his appearance seen through his father’s eyes. We never get the boy’s age, but he is probably no more than seven since he wears “miniature jeans” and cannot reach the bottom of the car. We also learn that he has brought his teddy bear (l. 49).

The st...