Doesn’t want to join the army but goes along with it anyway.
Should be discharged for his behaviour but isn’t because his dad is a military “hero”.
Tells Charles he is returning then changes his mind, without telling Charles, amd rejoins the military even thoigh he claims to find killing repugnant.
Drifts around for years without telling Charles. Suddenly calls him asking for money to get home. Forgets to pay him back.
Willingly accepts his fathers ill-gotten fortune. Openly decieves himself while dismissing Charles’ guilt over it.
Gets irritable and starts fights with Charles while Charles does all of the work on the farm.
Takes in a strange woman (Cathy), disregards his brothers misgivings about her.
Is aware of how much Charles misses and needs him but bails with Cathy anyway and doesn’t send letters.
Projects an angelic image onto Cathy, doesn’t listen to her or try to really see her at all.
Has children with Cathy when she is clearly unwilling and unfit to be a mother, dooming his kids to a motherless upbringing.
Hires Lee to do everything around the ranch when he could do most of it himself.
Won’t name the children or acknowledge them after Cathy leaves. Sleepwalks through life for 10 years while his kids grow up, Lee takes care of everything and the ranch falls into disrepair.
When he finally comes back to life (sort of) he favors Aron by projecting an agelic image on him just like he did on Cathy. This creates guilt in Aron and resentment in Cal.
Nearly blows all their wealth on the lettuce idea, ignoring Wills advice and tarnishing the reputation of his children.
Rejects Cals gift before he even knew where it came from. When Cal tells him, he is disgusted despite he himself only being rich thanks to profits of war from his own father.
His final words in the book are borrowed wisdom from Lee and Samuel from over a decade earlier. Only does anything decent when decent men like Lee or Samuel beat him into it.
Adam is not a good man at all. He is lazy, self-centred and disengaged. His kindness seems to come more from weakness. His goodness is just an absence of obvious malice, but is his passive disregard for the pain he has caused in others much better?
by BruiseHound
5 Comments
I know right!
Did you forget the part where Charles tried to kill him? He had nowhere to go. He didn’t like the army but didn’t want to return to the brother who tried to kill him. Only after the dad was dead that he felt safe to return to Charles.
Also don’t forget the kids are Charles’, not his, and Cal looks like Charles.
It was so difficult for me to get into the book because Adam was awful, and yet somehow presented as a good hearted protagonist? I didn’t really get into the book until Cathy was introduced because she is such a well written villain/ sociopath! Adam is just insufferable.
Adam is so terrible that I was actively rooting for Cathy
I think we’re meant to not like him. Besides Abra, I think we’re supposed to have more sympathy for the ‘C’ characters.