Gent by Rick DeMarinis
"Gent" by Rick DeMarinis is a poignant coming-of-age story narrated by Jack, a twelve-year-old boy who grapples with the complexities of family dynamics following his mother's remarriage. The narrative unfolds over two years, beginning with Jack’s mother, Jade, marrying Gent Mundy, a bachelor who is characterized by his tidiness and affection for Jade. Jack reflects on his family’s tumultuous past, including the suicides of his father and a previous stepfather, both of which left the family in financial turmoil. As Jack navigates his feelings about Gent and the changes in his household, he observes the budding relationship between Gent and Jade, along with the arrival of a baby brother named Spencer Ted.
The story captures Jack's transition into adolescence, marked by moments of rebellion, such as smoking his first cigarette, and his struggle to understand the adult world around him. Through Jack’s eyes, readers witness the blend of innocence and maturity as he experiences the complexities of love, loyalty, and familial bonds amidst changing circumstances. The narrative culminates in a Fourth of July trip, symbolizing both celebration and the ongoing tension within the family dynamics. Overall, "Gent" explores themes of acceptance, the impact of parenting, and the quest for identity within a newly formed family unit.
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Gent by Rick DeMarinis
First published: 1983
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The early 1950's
Locale: Far Cry, a town somewhere in the United States
Principal Characters:
Jack , the narrator, a twelve-year-old boyJade , his motherLaDonna , his eleven-year-old sisterGent Mundy , the man his mother marries, her third husband
The Story
"Gent" is told from the point of view of Jack, a twelve-year-old boy, from the time his mother marries Gent Mundy through the next two years. Jackie, as his mother calls him, realizes that his mother has married Gent to provide for her two children. Jack describes events dispassionately and accepts whatever happens in his new family.
The story opens with Jack giving a brief family history. His father, whom Jack remembers as a large and powerful man who was a hero in World War II, committed suicide by shooting himself. A year later, Jack's mother, Jade, married a salesperson named Roger Trewly, who not long afterward also committed suicide by jumping off a bridge into the heavy rapids of Far City River. Neither husband left the family with any money. At the time of her second husband's death, Jade was thirty-two and Jack eleven.
A year later, Jack and his sister LaDonna find their mother dressed up, looking like a little princess. Jade says she is going on a date. A few weeks later, she takes the children to dinner at Gent Mundy's house, where he proudly shows them the redecorated rooms that are to be their bedrooms. Gent is a forty-eight-year-old bachelor, bald and spindly legged. He is enamored of Jade, whom he calls his little jewel, and he assures her his creamery business is doing well. It is LaDonna who speaks up and tells Gent that her mother would be happy to marry him. Jack thinks of his sister as someone who sees things as they are.
The children like Gent well enough, though he is excessively neat and overly concerned with cleanliness. On the day of the wedding, Jack wears a new suit and tie Gent has given to him, with a ten-dollar bill in the pocket. The ceremony takes place in a minister's back office. Jack finds it hot and stuffy inside, and he goes outside and down the street where he buys his first pack of cigarettes and practices learning how to inhale. After the wedding, Gent takes his new family for a drive in the country in his Buick Roadmaster, and they stop by an old abandoned railway depot. Jack smokes his new cigarettes and watches Gent and Jade kissing awkwardly, Jade dropping her purse in the process.
Jack feels older now that he is smoking, and he secretly looks at some of Gent's magazines with pictures of women in skimpy bathing suits. One night he puts on his new suit and walks into the big bedroom. Although Gent and Jade are embroiled in activity in the bed, he calmly lights up a cigarette and starts telling them about an article he is reading. His mother tells him he is old enough to know not to barge into someone's bedroom. Later Jade gives birth to a baby boy, whom she and Gent name Spencer Ted. Gent is exceedingly proud to have a son, though he tells Jack and LaDonna he loves them too and continues to give them presents.
The story ends with a Fourth of July trip to a local lake. While Jack and LaDonna build sand castles and destroy them by pretending to bomb them, Gent stays with the baby, and Jade swims out to a diving platform about fifty yards from the shore. Later Jack starts to swim to join her, but he sees a big and heavily muscled man near his mother. Jade swims again, and the man swims behind her. They return to the diving platform. Jade shakes water from her glossy hair. The man does a handstand and then walks around on his hands. Gent looks across the water to Jade and lifts the baby's arm to point. It is nearly evening and time for the fireworks show.