"Family" as Portrayed in The River

Bevel is a young boy from an American family, who only seeks for attention as any boy of four or five does. He only wants to “count” as repeated over and over in the story of Bevel’s journey to the river. Bevel is only after caring from his parents but is unable to receive it from what we observe throughout the story. He is a lonely boy at home who is not taken care of by his parents but rather given to a babysitter to be taken out of the house. Bevel’s parents could not be considered his “parents” in this sense because they do not share the bonds that make a family; neither does the house possess values that make it a home. A home is supposed to be bound by loving and caring, with feelings that bind the individual to it. Bevel’s house and parents are not connected to each other by these bonds and Bevel himself is merely an excess individual to be fed.
Bevel is obviously highly saddened by this fact. Even though he is only a four year-old boy, and is not completely aware of the parties that take place in the house, Bevel is dire need of attention and caring from the parents. He does not feel that he “counts.” What Bevel refers to when he says “”He said I’m not the same now,” he murmured. “I count.” is his view in the eyes of his parents. He feels that because he is baptized, now that people will care about him and give him the attention he lacks at his house. Bevel is not want attention and loving but he is willing to do anything to receive it. The only place where he actually feels this belonging is the river in the story. Taking this into consideration, his actions at the end of the story are in no way illogical. The fact that “He hadn’t taken a suitcase because there was nothing from there he wanted to keep.” shows that Bevel does not appreciate his life at home and wants to keep as far away from it as possible. A family is a binding entity; it is an environment in which you feel safe and comfortable. Bevel’s parents do not possess this and therefore Bevel has no reason to be bound by the house. He wants to be in a place where he is “counts” and in which he feels happy.

“Mrs. Connin stood a second, staring into the room, with a skeleton’s appearance of seeing everything.” when she brings Bevel back home to his parents. At this point, she realizes what Bevel was talking about when he said his mother had a “hangover.” The party that is going on in the house involves the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Bevel is not aware of this but he certainly feels the outcomes of these parties that should not involve a four year-old kid sleeping in the next room. As Bevel’s mother “whispered and her bitter breath covered his face.” we can see that Bevel is not in a suitable environment for young boy to be raised in. Considering the state that the parents are living in, the only thing that Bevel can do is to find a better life for himself. Always being passed on to a different babysitter, who mostly does not even know his name, Bevel is excluded from his parents’ love. Bevel only wants to know he matters to his parents and that they are actually aware of his presence, he only wants to “count.”

Like any wise person, Bevel chooses to go to the only place where he knows for sure he matters. The river is where Bevel believes he actually is part of something more important than he is at home. Therefore, at the end of the story, Bevel runs back to the river as fast as he can, leaving everything behind him. He wants to be somewhere where he actually means something to people, and in this case, the Kingdom of Christ. There are many reasons as to why Bevel thinks this is important to him and many ways we can interpret his actions. We can look at it from a Biblical point of view and say he has exercised the demons inside him and that he is now a clean person. But when you look at Bevel as a simple little kid, we can see that he only wants some sort of attention. The river is where he finds this. The calmness he feels as the story comes to an end is due to the beautiful thoughts that fill his body. He dreams of a beautiful place as the “current caught him like a long gentle hand and pulled him swiftly forward and down.” “…all the fury and fear had left him.” when he was pulled and taken into the soft and gentle arms of the river. Even when he died, Bevel believed that he was being taken to better place; therefore, he did not suffer as many do.

Bevel is only a young boy of four. He only wants his parents’ love and caring. The lack of the warmth of a true family, drives Bevel to the river. He is compelled to run somewhere where he actually matters to some people. He is joyful as he dies and finally feels that he will leading a life actually worth something. He may even believe that he will make a change, that he will count, people will recognize him and maybe even know his name