William Bell's No Signature Theme Essay
Andrew Clark
Mrs. Dickson
ENG 1D
June 10, 2013
Theme Essay on William Bell’s No Signature
The novel No Signature ratifies the importance of human relationships through exhibiting how drastically Steve’s decisions can negatively affect his relationships with his family and friends. After Steve Chandler's father leaves the family, Steve receives a postcard from him every month. There's no return address, and no signature; just "DAD" stamped on the back. When Steve’s mom finds him angrily ripping up the cards, she starts throwing them out before he can see them. But one day, when he's eighteen, he gets the mail first. He finds another "DAD" postcard, and goes in search of his father. During a short trip to Thunder Bay, the two slowly form a relationship. The painful secret that forces Steve’s father to leave his family is revealed; as a result, Steve’s resentment and bitterness leads to forgiveness and respect. Through the series of flashbacks, the reader sees Steve at various moments in his life and grows to understand his anger at his father and his own decision to distance himself emotionally from a potentially painful situation. An important theme in William Bell’s No Signature is human relationship issues which occur between Steve and Hawk, Steve and his mother, and most significantly, Steve and his father.
A major human relationship issue in the novel is between Steve and his best friend Hawk. One day Steve discovered Hawk in the boy’s locker room crying in the dark. Here Hawk’s biggest and darkest secret is exposed – he is a homosexual. The other kids on the wrestling team find gay pornographic pictures in Hawk’s locker. Steve, disgusted with the fact, quickly backs off and flees the scene, abandoning the sorrowful Hawk. Steve thinks to himself, “Hawk Richardson is gay. The Athlete of the Year is a fag. And Wick Chandler is his best friend.” (Bell 127) One night while Steve is in bed, he begins to speculate how he had just abandoned Hawk out of
Mrs. Dickson
ENG 1D
June 10, 2013
Theme Essay on William Bell’s No Signature
The novel No Signature ratifies the importance of human relationships through exhibiting how drastically Steve’s decisions can negatively affect his relationships with his family and friends. After Steve Chandler's father leaves the family, Steve receives a postcard from him every month. There's no return address, and no signature; just "DAD" stamped on the back. When Steve’s mom finds him angrily ripping up the cards, she starts throwing them out before he can see them. But one day, when he's eighteen, he gets the mail first. He finds another "DAD" postcard, and goes in search of his father. During a short trip to Thunder Bay, the two slowly form a relationship. The painful secret that forces Steve’s father to leave his family is revealed; as a result, Steve’s resentment and bitterness leads to forgiveness and respect. Through the series of flashbacks, the reader sees Steve at various moments in his life and grows to understand his anger at his father and his own decision to distance himself emotionally from a potentially painful situation. An important theme in William Bell’s No Signature is human relationship issues which occur between Steve and Hawk, Steve and his mother, and most significantly, Steve and his father.
A major human relationship issue in the novel is between Steve and his best friend Hawk. One day Steve discovered Hawk in the boy’s locker room crying in the dark. Here Hawk’s biggest and darkest secret is exposed – he is a homosexual. The other kids on the wrestling team find gay pornographic pictures in Hawk’s locker. Steve, disgusted with the fact, quickly backs off and flees the scene, abandoning the sorrowful Hawk. Steve thinks to himself, “Hawk Richardson is gay. The Athlete of the Year is a fag. And Wick Chandler is his best friend.” (Bell 127) One night while Steve is in bed, he begins to speculate how he had just abandoned Hawk out of
Cited: www.google.ca – Search Engine Bell, William. No Signature. Toronto: McClelland-Bantam, 1995. Print. www.easybib.com – Citation Website