The story is about a “family” on the run from the law that stops in a town called Rock Springs, Wyoming. The “family” consists of a father named Earl who is the narrator of the story, his girlfriend Edna, Earl’s daughter Cheryl, and her pet dog named Little Duke. They had stolen a car from the parking lot of an ophthalmologist previously and were headed down to Florida to stay with friends who would not rat them out. The car though breaks down and they ditch it once they reach Rock Springs. Earl relies on help from a woman of color to call a taxicab and get them to a motel. They reach the motel and stay there for the night while trying to figure out what to do next. The story ends with Earl looking into different cars at the motel determining which one to steal for the family’s next leg of the journey and wondering if anyone is watching him.
This story is only part of a larger story that is still unfinished as the family has yet to reach their destination. During the events that are happening, Earl, our narrator looks back onto his life. We learn that he has been involved with breaking the law multiple times. This time though he is on the run for bad checks. Earl does not want to live a life of crime as he had once had an actual job but there is nothing else he can do. He had already taken his girlfriend Edna with him to avoid her ex-husband Danny and Cheryl was his daughter, he could not leave her behind.
One notable thing about the town of Rock Springs is that the place has a gold mine where lots of gold can be found. Earl learns this once he enters the home of the black woman to call for a taxi. He asks her about the plant she saw and she tells him that because of the gold mine, her life with her husband and grandson is wonderful because her husband only has to work three months a year. They only stay in the trailer park temporarily during that time and then return to their home in Rockford, Illinois. Earl feels jealous but does not show it as he wishes he had a life like they did.
Earl’s regret is subtle but present in the story. He regrets the life he is living and the fact that he dragged Edna and Cheryl into this. All he wants is a stable family life but he cannot have that because of his past offenses towards the law. He even states on page 17 that even though he was an offender, he never saw himself as one and had no intention of becoming one. There is no explanation given as to how he turned to a life of crime but one can infer based on page 19 that it may have had to do something with meeting Edna back when he had a job and was living with Cheryl’s mother.
Both stories in general have a common theme of leaving family behind and how it affects everyone. “Rock Springs” is no exception to this.
What did you get from this story, Emily? What’s your sense of what it has to say about life, missed opportunities, restlessness, regret? What are all the questions at the end meant to elicit from the reader?