The Father-Thing(Blog #5)

In The Father-Thing by Philip K. Dick, I really enjoyed that the narration was told entirely from that of children. Out of all the readings this week, this one was the only one to be told in a child's perspective which made it more fun to read. One thing I'd like to note is that there is this sense that all the children in the story are "all-knowing." When I say "all-knowing," I mean that these children that band together share a common collectivity and belief within the alien or "things." Sometimes adults can't see what children see because they don't believe, whereas children are more susceptible to seeing "odd phenomenons." Scared for his life, Charles bands together with Peretti and Bobby Daniels to search for something "outside our world" that they believe is controlling the father-thing. While in search, they discover a metallic foot long millipede. Rushing to kill it, Peretti stabs it with a rake and Charles shoots the bb gun at it. With the tail shot off, its eyes gleamed with hatred. Hiding from the father-thing, Charles discovers that there were other things ready to come out of cocoon like structures in the filthy dampness between his house and garage. Here, there is this idea that these "things" will not only replace his family but everyone in the world. This idea builds up anxiety within Charles. But with much content, these kids kill the bug and things when Bobby Daniels pours kerosene into the tunnel killing off the bug. No bug equals "things" dying off. As a result, the children come out as heroes and save the day.