Jan 28th, 2021 by newman21
“Rock Springs” is narrated by a man named Earl, a dad to a little girl named Cheryl. Earl has a long criminal background while trying to stay afloat for himself and dragging his daughter with him. He finds a girlfriend named Edna and moves into 
her house. At this moment in the story, we think things are going somewhat well in Earl’s life. But they decide to leave for Florida and Earl has to steal a car to get there, as they get about a quarter of the way to Florida Ford adds some nervous tension. The cranberry Mercedes starts to have issues. Edna starts to get irritated knowing that it’s stolen and they have no other way of getting another car. This starts to add tension between Earl and Edna because Earl never plans ahead. They end up breaking down right outside of a town called “Rock Springs”. Earl has to drive the stolen car into the trees and sand. Then leaves Edna and Cheryl alone while he goes to find someone with a phone to call a taxi. This is where Ford shows us that Earl is not just a criminal but a manipulative liar as well. He tells the woman that is allowing him to use her phone that he is an ophthalmologist. We also see that he is a liar when they check into the motel he claims to be an ophthalmologist again and using a false name. When they arrive and get settled we see that the love between Earl and Edna starts to fade when we find out that Edna is tired of the life they are living on the run and wants to go home alone. It ends with Earl questioning what other people see him as.
In this story, Ford is showing us a character that only cares mostly for himself and about not getting caught by the law. He lives on the run, making everything up as he goes; it’s almost like he is writing his own story with his life. Though he has a daughter and a girlfriend in his life, he pulls them into his criminal world of lying, stealing, and manipulation. Ford makes it clear that Earl has no real plans on his way to Florida with his “family” other than not getting caught. Earl is even lying to himself because he tells his “family” promises he can never keep. But in the moment of saying it, he really believes he can provide these promises, and they always fail on his part.