Beyond By Lois Lowry Analysis

“Son” Essays
The main conflict in “Beyond,” the third part in Lois Lowry’s “Son,” is both internal and external because Gabe, the protagonist, is longing to understand his past, but, in order to do that, he must face external challenges. Gabe spends many years wondering about his past and starts searching for his mother, from whom he was separated at his birth. Attempting to find his mother, Gabe makes a boat to search in villages along the river. Learning his mother’s identity at the same time that he learns she is dying, he also finds out that his mother traded her youth for the ability to continue her journey to find him. She will only be able to live if Gabe kills Trademaster, evil in human form. When Gabe confronted Trademaster, Gabe described him as: “He was the force of evil, of all evil for all time” (Lowry, 387).
In this quote, Gabe describes Trademaster, evil in the form of man, after he has used his powers to understand Trademaster and figure out a way to kill him. Gabe realizes he can destroy the evil spirit by only informing the evil spirit he is not actually ruining people’s lives by granting them a wish in return for their youth, personalities or vital body parts. When Gabe tells Trademaster that people who have interacted with him are continuing to live on happily, Trademaster dies. This confrontation is significant because it is the supreme ordeal in the story; it is the biggest dangerous challenge for Gabe and is a life or death moment. Gabe faces Trademaster’s weapons, yet he overcomes the fear and diminishes