Mr. Cooper
Throughout much of the first half of the novel, Mr. Cooper is merely set aside. Although his existence is made known, his presence is in the background. Most of what we see during the first half of the novel is Benji Cooper and his friends’ antics where they discuss the silliest of topics, such as the ethnicity of their ice cream boss. This part of the novel sets a somewhat light-hearted mood, although still with some darker undertones. But once the dad comes home in “To Prevent Flare-Ups”, we see a much different side of Benji Cooper and his family. All of a sudden, Benji becomes hyper aware of every sound that goes on around the house. The story’s tone takes a more serious turn as we learn about how neglective and borderline abusive Mr. Cooper is. Because of his alcoholism problem, he is always on the line of flaring-up, and Benji is extremely careful not to push him over the line. Although his dad isn’t a great person at all, Benji still wishes for his dad’s affection. In the novel,