Elizabeth Baine has written a short story “Compass and Torch”. The story is about a boy and his father who went on an expedition. They want to go camping on a mountain. The boy and the dad do not see each other much since the boy’s mother and father are divorced. In fact this is the first time in 8 months they are going to see each other again. The boy’s mother are not thrilled hearing that the father are taking the boy for an expedition and neither are the mother’s boyfriend Jim. They see it, as the father is not irresponsible enough.
The boy and the father do not seem to have much I coming. All though they still seems to love and care about each other. When they are on the expedition they do not have much to talk about and mostly it is the boy being chattering and the father answering him. But there is still a bond between the boy and the father that no one can replace. As the boy shows his torch to the mother’s boyfriend Jim, he thinks, “But Jim is not my dad.” (Page 8, line 35) All though Jim are talking to the boy nicely and are very kind. The boy and the father are several times looking fascinated by each other. No matter how sweet the mother and her boyfriend are to the boy, they never will be able to have the same influence to the kid as the father has.
The boy is the main character of the story. He has his father, mother and the mother’s boyfriend Jim. This typical situation we see now a day for modern families. The boy is deeply moved by his father and loves everything about him, no matter what he does. No matter how sweet the mother and her boyfriend are to the boy, they never get the same influence to the kid as the father has. As when the father drops in to the driving seat the boy’s chest gives a little hop of joy and he cries excitedly (Page 7, line 14-15). The boy does really love his father, but also seems to be mad at his mother
