The Boys Next Door: Response 2

I think there are two different themes throughout the first and second acts.  In the first act one can sense more lightheartedness and almost a joy from the characters, almost as if celebrating who they are.  The second act though, gives a more broken and darker side into each characters life.  It is definitely a more realistic view to the lives of people with these disabilities.  Reading the story one can legitimately feel bad knowing that a lot of people in the real world exactly like these depicted in the story are abandoned simply because they are written off as useless or the people that try to do good get burnt out and need a break. Either way it feels like they don’t have any stability in their lives, which could do them probably the most good.  Almost the best thing to take away from reading this piece is the fact that one can be changed by these such people just as much as one can change their lives.  While many people with such disabilities are usually stubborn and stuck in their ways one can always just be there for them.  On the other hand, we could learn a thing or two about the simplicity and innocence that people such as these live in.  They help us remember what life is really about, relationships and one another, not status or how well you’re liked.  Love between them, such as with Sheila and Norman is so simple and they appreciate the most smallest of gifts.  While Jack is leaving to work another job, I think a part of him still really loves the boys.  Even though he needs a break, I think the story portrays that he would never be able to abandon them and that he probably cares the most about them out of anyone else in the world.