The story “Great Falls” appears to be Jackie’s way of coping with an event from his childhood that even in adulthood, he does not fully understand. The separation of his parents is most likely something he thinks about often based on the fact he has visited the site of the house before. Throughout the story we see him battle with complicated relationships with both parents due to the manner of the separation. He wonders why his mother left and wonders why his father would not let her return.
One large part of Jackie’s struggle is attempting to understanding parts of the story he was not there for. We see this struggle in the following excerpt.
“Did she say, this is what I’ve wanted all along? And did he say, I’m sorry for all this, or I’m glad, or None of this matter to me? These are not the kinds of things you can know if you were not there. And I wasn’t there, and I did not want to be.” (Ford 44)
Jackie tears himself up over this, questioning himself over things he does not have an answer to. He is even aware enough to say he was not there and because of this had no way of learning this information. This does not stop him from wondering what went on. As well as this Jackie seems to hold his childhood-self guilty for not getting into the car with his mother and Woody. He seems to believe that if he had gotten into the car things would have been better or he at least would have had his answers. This guilt is a prevalent theme seen throughout the story. Another example of Jackie feeling guilty can be seen in the following exert.
“But I did wish then that I had never let her go the night before. Things can be fixed by staying; but to go out into the night and not come back hazards life, and everything can get out of hand.” (Ford 48)
This is not a childhood thought, but a thought Jackie has when recalling the story. In many cases when parents separate children see themselves as responsible for it, it seems these guilty feelings have lingered into Jackie’s adult life. This guilt is irrational as there was no way Jackie could have kept his family together, even if he had stopped his mother from leaving. Unfortunately, Jackie does not seem to realize this and still holds himself responsible for something that happened when he was a child. This is one of the most interesting aspects of this story, because while this story is a way for Jackie to cope it also shows he is not coping well. This poor copping is the author’s way of showing how Jackie’s childhood trauma affects him even in adulthood.
Overall while I do believe the events of the story are important, I believe the most important part of this story is that it shows Jackie’s current feelings about it. By showing Jackie still struggles with the events of what happened it shows how important it is to him.
The separation of both of his parents definitely affected him. He blames himself partly for what happened and does not know that what happened was not his fault. Because he cannot find peace within himself, he is still carrying the burden and guilt of what happened in his childhood.