Ghostroots
Things Boys Do
by Aguda, ‘PemiThe chapter “Things Boys Do” explores the unsettling dynamics between fathers and their newborn sons through three distinct narratives. The first man witnesses his wife’s traumatic childbirth, where the baby’s arrival is marked by eerie silence and a doctor’s evasive reassurance. The father is haunted by the infant’s unnerving white eyeballs and his wife’s subsequent health decline, leaving him fearful of his own child. This segment sets a tone of dread, questioning the natural bond between parent and offspring.
The second man grapples with his mother’s insistence that his son is not biologically his, adding familial tension to his wife’s post-birth struggles. The baby’s unsettling eye movements and his mother’s accusations create a atmosphere of distrust. When his wife dies shortly after, the man is left alone with Johnny, the child he struggles to accept. This narrative thread underscores themes of doubt and the fragility of paternal connections.
The third man, an adoptive father, experiences an inexplicable unease with his new son. Despite his wife’s apparent bond with the baby, he feels judged by the infant’s stern gaze and notices fleeting gray flecks in its eyes. His playful interaction turns to discomfort, leaving him to whisper, “You’re not a good boy.” This vignette amplifies the chapter’s recurring motif of children as unsettling, almost otherworldly figures who disrupt paternal certainty.
The chapter culminates with the first man’s growing fear of his son Jon, whose presence triggers visceral dread. The narratives collectively paint a portrait of masculinity in crisis, where fatherhood is fraught with unspoken fears and supernatural undertones. The boys, though infants, wield an unsettling power that destabilizes the men around them, challenging traditional notions of paternal instinct and familial harmony.
FAQs
1. How does the chapter portray the complex emotions fathers experience toward their newborn sons?
Answer:
The chapter vividly depicts three fathers grappling with disturbing, unnatural reactions to their infant sons. The first man feels visceral fear when alone with Jon, experiencing “a flinching, recoiling, chilling thing” (page 109). The second man is repulsed by his baby’s eye movements, described as “like a buried thing digging its way up” (page 106). The third man feels judged and unsettled by his adopted son’s stern gaze and mysterious gray flecks in his eyes (page 108). These reactions subvert traditional paternal bonding narratives, suggesting something ominous about these particular infants while revealing how fatherhood can trigger unexpected psychological responses.2. What symbolic significance might the babies’ eyes hold across the three vignettes?
Answer:
Eyes serve as recurring symbols of unease and supernatural implication. The first baby’s startling white eyeballs appear amidst birth fluids (page 105), imprinting on his father’s mind. The second baby’s eyes move unnaturally beneath closed lids (page 106), suggesting hidden activity. The adopted baby’s gray-flecked irises momentarily flash (page 108), conveying an otherworldly warning. Collectively, these ocular details transform infant eyes from symbols of innocence into windows revealing something ancient, knowing, and potentially malevolent. The eye imagery connects the boys while foreshadowing their possible shared supernatural origin or destiny.3. How does the chapter use medical settings and professionals to heighten the unsettling atmosphere?
Answer:
Medical contexts amplify dread through professional inadequacy and ominous ambiguity. The first doctor avoids direct answers about the baby’s condition, forcing out strained congratulations (page 106). Ikeja General Hospital dismisses the second mother while she’s still hemorrhaging with the callous explanation “everybody bleeds” (page 106). These medical failures create vulnerability for the families while suggesting professionals either can’t or won’t acknowledge the abnormal nature of these births. The hospital’s inability to help implies the supernatural exceeds medical understanding, leaving fathers isolated with their terrifying paternal experiences.4. Analyze how maternal figures are portrayed in contrast to paternal experiences.
Answer:
Mothers exist in states of extreme physical sacrifice or absence. The first mother’s insides are destroyed during birth (page 105), the second mother dies postpartum (page 109), and the adoptive mother exists in exhausted survival mode (page 107). Meanwhile, the second man’s mother introduces conflict by denying the baby’s legitimacy (page 107). This constructs motherhood as either physically catastrophic or emotionally fraught, while fathers grapple with psychological terror. The maternal figures’ suffering seems to enable the sons’ existence, positioning the boys as parasitic forces that consume their mothers and unnerve their fathers.5. What thematic connections can be drawn between the vignette structure and the chapter’s title “Things Boys Do”?
Answer:
The tripartite structure reveals a pattern of destructive male behavior beginning at birth. Each boy causes harm: the first destroys his mother’s reproductive capacity, the second’s birth leads to maternal death, and the third exhibits unsettling precocity. The title’s plural “boys” suggests these are not isolated incidents but examples of a recurring phenomenon. The vignette format implies these are case studies in a larger cycle of male-caused suffering. The chapter’s opening line—”Children can be cruel”—frames these narratives as examinations of inherent male violence manifesting from infancy, challenging notions of childhood innocence.
Quotes
1. “What he does not know is that he is watching their son destroy her insides, shredding, making sure there will be no others to follow.”
This opening line introduces the chapter’s central theme of the destructive nature of these boys, foreshadowing the physical and emotional toll they take on their mothers. The visceral imagery sets a tone of horror and inevitability.
2. “That baby is not yours, I’m sure of it… I know it. I feel it.”
The second man’s mother voices the unsettling intuition shared by all three families - that these boys are somehow unnatural or otherworldly. This quote represents the growing sense of dread and alienation surrounding the children.
3. “How does one feel embarrassed in the sight of a three-week-old baby?”
This rhetorical question captures the uncanny power these infants wield over their fathers. The third man’s discomfort reveals the unnatural dynamic where the babies seem to judge rather than depend on their parents.
4. “What father is frightened of his own child, scared to hold him, scared to be looked at by him, to be really seen by him?”
This poignant reflection from the first man articulates the chapter’s exploration of inverted parental relationships. The quote powerfully conveys the shame and terror of fearing one’s own offspring.
5. “There was another boy, once. But that was so long ago.”
This haunting interlude suggests these events are part of a recurring cycle, implying the boys’ existence may be supernatural or mythological in nature. The brevity and mystery of the statement make it particularly memorable.