Like a House on Fire Themes

“Like a House on Fire” is the story of an unnamed man suffering from severe back pain after an accident at work. After nearly sixteen weeks recovering at home, the narrator feels humiliated by his inability to work or provide for his family. Author Cate Kennedy reveals how the protagonist’s humiliation is inherently linked to a sense of inadequate masculinity. Although his physical frailness, his inability to play with his children, and his failure to…

In “Like a House on Fire,” a perfectionistic man’s life is thrown into chaos when he sustains a serious back injury at work and is forced to take extensive sick leave. The story’s two central characters—the unnamed narrator and his wife, Claire—embody order and chaos, respectively, and the conflict between the two illustrates how insisting on complete order can actually lead to increased chaos. Some chaos, Kennedy suggests, is inevitable, and denying that…