My Son the Murderer

My Son the Murderer is  a short story by Bernard Malamud. The story takes place in New York, as one of the characters often takes the trolleybus to Coney Island. The characters in the story are the father, Leo, the mother, the daughter (who is older and raising children of her own), and the son, Harry. Harry has just graduated college and is 22. He is quiet and keeps to himself, and yells at his parents most of the time. His mother is gone most of the day, as she is helping her pregnant daughter with her kids. The father, Leo, has taken time off of work because he is worried about his son. His son stays at home during the day and doesn't work, keeps to himself, is clearly unhappy, and often takes walks by himself. The theme of the story is failed communication between the family. The brother and sister never talk to each other, as the sister says he doesn't respect her as a sister, but as another mother. There is also very little communication between the mom and dad. Like The Girl with the Pimply Face, this story also didn't use quotation marks, which made it hard to follow. Though it was hard to understand at first, I liked how the story would switch rolls between the father and son. However, I don't think think this would be a good story to choose, because it is so short.