Crossing Mark Slouka Analysis

An Analysis and Interpretation of Slouka’s “Crossing” (1017 words)
How does one know what is the right thing to do, when it comes to the people you love? Whether it’s concerning a relationship with your children, or your partner/spouse, is there really a way to make things right? In the short story “Crossing” by Mark Slouka from 2009, we hear about a dad and his son going on a camping trip to an old barn, which the father used to go to with his own father, when he was a child.
The story takes place far away from civilisation, in a barn, located deep in a forest. The key point of the story, is when the dad tries to cross a river with a heavy current on the way home from the barn, with his son on his back. They cross said river twice in the
It doesn’t tell us specifically what it is that he has done, but it states on line 20, like referred to earlier, that he wonders if he could maybe make it right, yet it does not say what it is that he has done wrong. The father spends a lot of time thinking back on how him and his father used to go camping at the same barn, and those past camping trips with his father is the reason why he wants to take his son out camping too. The barn is described as really old, broken, and has darkled over the years. In addition its roof has been smouldering away into almost nothingness. This could symbolise, how the relationship with his son, and the mother has become quite tense, after the father did something wrong. This tense relationship can be seen on line 15-16 “he went inside, wiping his shoes and ducking his head like a visitor”. The last part of the quote, shows that they’re almost like strangers, however they have a kid together, so that clearly cannot be the case. Furthermore, it is obvious that they used to live together. This becomes clear on line 14 that quotes: “he sat in the driveway for a while, looking at the yard, the azaleas he’d planted” The father may have been depressed due to them, the father and the mother, not living together anymore. Evidence supporting this statement can be seen on line 15, “[..] For a long time he hadn’t wanted her back, hadn’t wanted much of anything”. The feeling of not wanting anything at all, is a typical sign of depression. Another sign of depression, is to search for something that feels save and well-known, which could in this case be the barn, since the father used to camp there with his own father. He has probably started to feel at least a little bit better, since the phrase for a long time is used. This indicates that it is something that has