Sieze The Day

As I kept reading I noticed that Wilhelm is a very self pitying and jealous guy. When he met Mr. Perls at breakfast he instantly began to criticize his attire and his overall presence. I think that he was especially harsh on Mr. Perls because he would get his father’s undivided attention and respect effortlessly while his father looked down at his poor son. It is overwhelming how weak Wilhelm is emotionally and I think it is very ironic that physically he is a very big, strong man. Mr. Adler is exaggeratedly cruel with his son and I think it is very upsetting and awful how terribly and how detached his actions are toward his son. This constant mistreatment obviously scars Wilhelm and has made him a very bitter person but still he tries to impress his father by bragging to Mr. Perls or any other method that would win his father’s respect.

As we continue in the story we find that Wilhelm is a very immature character. He doesn’t know how to make decisions and knowingly makes wrong ones. I think that his father is the source of all his problems and that is why he has conflicts with himself. It’s really strange how he knows what decision would be the best for him and would have the most positive outcome but every time he ignores his instinct. I think this makes him immature because he never learns his lesson and thus, makes the same mistakes over again, this idleness makes him seem very simple and makes him a very frustrating character. “The very shade of green of Tamkin’s check looked wrong; it was a false, disheartening color. His handwriting was peculiar, even monstrous…” This quote is Wilhelm so obviously mulling over all of the pros and cons of having a man like Tamkin handling his money and it seems so mistrusting that it’s hard to believe that anyone, with even the slightest doubt, would continue with the deal. It is situations like these that make Wilhelm an innocent and immature man because he doesn’t want to face the fact that some one may be a con and may steal his money. He is naïve and oblivious to the fact that there are bad people out there preying on weak, innocent others.

I find Tamkin a very interesting character. He is extremely quirky and seems to be a huge liar. All of the stories that he has told Wilhelm so far and unbelievable and simply ridiculous, I think he creates them to make himself feel more important and useful. He prides himself in “helping…healing people” and I think this shows a very arrogant and obnoxious side of the man. He doesn’t help people because of his kind heart but instead to nurture his ego and I think it’s terrible how easily he can manipulate Wilhelm. For example, with their rye investment well on the rise Wilhelm want to sell so that he can be assured some money but Tamkin talks and even tries to hypnotize Wilhelm out of it so that he can keep speculating it. “Say to yourself here-and-now, here-and-now, here-and-now. ‘Where am I?’ ‘Here.’ “When is it?’ ‘Now.’…” This kind of attitude shows me a very selfish and bad man and I think Tommy is foolish in having so much faith in him. Though when we read through Tommy’s thoughts they do doubt his associate many times but this isn’t enough for him to break off his tie to him. This shows me a weak and rather pathetic dependence on Tommy’s part because he has lost so much that he grasps at anything or anyone for comfort. His indecision is one of his biggest flaws and has gotten him into many disasters.