Tripp

So far I still do not like the main character Tripp. I think he is very much like Portia who shows little emotion towards almost everything. In the opening of the novel, Tripp says easily and without showing much emotion that his wife, Emily, has left him in the morning. He told Cabtree that she has left him because she found out about his affair with Sara. Tripp shows no sign of trying to fix his relationship with Emily. Although he mentions to readers that he loves her deeply and loves everything about her, he does not seem to make effort of saving his marriage. He then attends the party at Sara’s house and tells Sara, again without showing much emotion that Emily has left him. I think the novel suggests that Tripp does not care about his marriage or the idea of marriage. The fact that he has gone through three marriages might suggests this. His three marriages might also hints that Tripp is a character who gives up his passion or his love easily. When he finds out that Sara is pregnant also reveals that Tripp shows little emotion and place little weight on marriage. He is neither thrilled nor shocked when he finds out the news about her pregnancy. When Sara says that they should divorce their spouses and marry each other, Tripp simply says yes without giving any thoughts to his response. When Sara cries in bed, Tripp also shows little emotion. He does not comfort her or think about the pregnancy situation. He simply says that he cannot move. He wants Sara to move other than wants to cuddle her and makes her feel better. He therefore is a very self absorbed, emotionless character. I think Tripp is then very much like Portia who easily gives up her baby after she gives birth to him. Tripp could easily give up his marriage to Emily. If the story develops in to him marrying Sara, I think he would very easily give up his marriage to her as well. I think his friendship with Cabtree also shows his lack of emotion. He mentions that he met Cabtree his junior year in college and he did not intended to make any friends in college. Since he lacked the intention to make friends, this shows that Tripp is a character who keeps to himself, or a loner I should say. He is then very much opposite of Amory. Amory is afraid to be alone and friendless. For him to make friends only with Cabtree suggests that he rarely makes effort to show his emotion for someone else.