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Chapter 8: Closing In
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Simple Gift, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Riches and Poverty
Redemption
Love and Family
Rules and Freedom
Summary
Analysis
Celebrating. In the street, Billy hugs Old Bill like he’s never hugged anyone before. He’s sure that Old Bill has saved his life, and he wants to thank him a hundred times. Billy picks up his backpack and follows Old Bill up to the better part of town where the houses have “neat gardens” and “orderly trees” and brightly painted fences. At the house on Wellington Road, the grass is freshly mown and swallows swoop around the verandah, celebrating the hatching of their babies.
Billy and Old Bill embrace in the street in a public show of affection that binds them together. Importantly, this happens before Old Bill takes Billy to the house—the emotional intimacy and reciprocity of their friendship precedes and establishes the sense of safety and belonging that the house will formalize. Once there, signs of abundant and joyful life abound, contributing to a sense of peace and resolution for Billy as well as readers.
Themes
Swallows. Old Bill and Billy sit on the verandah watching the swallows flit around the yard and enjoying the breeze through the trees. Old Bill tells Billy about how he planted some of the trees himself and how he built the shed and used to keep a gas grill on the verandah for weekend barbeques. Old Bill had a dog called Jerry, who loved to play in the yard. Old Bill lived in the house for 15 years, but he hasn’t been back inside the house since he left on March 2nd, 1994. When he comes back, he never ventures farther than the verandah, where he sits and cries “like an old drunk.” Unwilling to hurt Old Bill by asking him to go inside, Billy tactfully pockets the key and decides to wait until Caitlin is there with him to open the doors.
Old Bill’s old life conforms to the expectations and rules of society. Although following these unwritten rules didn’t prevent the catastrophe that befell his family, his memories of earlier life provide a nice contrast with Billy’s abusive home life and Caitlin’s emotionally distant parents. Old Bill’s memories promise that a house can be a place of love, happiness, and security—if people who respect and care for each other live there. And once again, Billy demonstrates his sensitivity and maturity by understanding without having to be told how sensitive the moment is—that’s why he doesn’t follow Old Bill inside.
Themes
Tremor. Old Bill’s hands often shake from drinking—or from not drinking—so he keeps them in his pockets as much as possible. He has them there while he sits on the verandah with Billy and talks about the house and Jerry the dog. But when Billy puts the key into his pocket and offers Old Bill a handshake, Old Bill’s hands stop trembling, just for a moment.
Old Bill’s trembling hands betray the lingering effects of his personal trauma as well as the alcohol he’s used to numb that pain. But he moves one step closer to his redemption when he shakes Billy’s hand without the tremor betraying his emotions. Billy’s love and friendship are slowly displacing some of Old Bill’s pain.
Themes
Locks and keys. When he gets to McDonald’s, Billy immediately apologizes to Caitlin for how long it’s been since he’s seen her. Even though she’s mopping (which she hates), she breaks into a wide smile. Billy orders a lemonade and sits in the upstairs dining room thinking of everything he has to tell Caitlin. Living in a house seems so adult, even if it’s only temporary while he figures out what to do next.
Billy and Caitlin meet again at the McDonald’s in a moment that seems to return them to the beginning of their relationship. This poem thus hints that they’re at another beginning—about to embark on a new phase of their relationship and lives together. And importantly, Billy now thinks about how he wants to construct his life going forwards. His relationships with Caitlin and Old Bill have helped him find a greater sense of purpose than he had when he ran away from home.
Themes
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Caitlin and the key. The next day after school, Caitlin stands on the corner of Wellington and Jamison waiting for Billy in the rain. He walks up, soaking wet and wildly grinning, takes her hand, and leads her in the opposite direction of his train car. He won’t answer her questions, and she can tell he has a big surprise, so she tries to contain her impatience. They walk up to a beautiful white house with a tree-filled yard. A parrot eats seed from a bird feeder on the fence. Billy shows Caitlin the key and explains about the welfare officers, Old Bill’s family, and Old Bill’s plan. He tells her how he couldn’t bring himself to go inside yesterday with Old Bill. Caitlin starts to cry, thinking about Old Bill and his relationship with Billy. She unlocks the door and walks through it with Billy.
Readers see Old Bill’s house through Caitlin’s eyes in this poem. In contrast to the cold, oversized home her parents own, Old Bill’s house is just the right size. She notices the signs of life and abundance around it. The parrot points toward the spirit of Jessie, who rescued a parrot then released it back to live its wild life after it recovered. Billy and Caitlin enter the house together, metaphorically reviving it with the strength of their relationship. And although he can’t bring himself to go back inside, the fact that both Billy and Caitlin think of him in this moment allows Old Bill to be there in spirit, too.
Themes
