The Variations Of Stability By Johnny Truant - 1738 Words

The Variations of Stability Johnny Truant is first introduced to the reader characterized as a drunken, unstable individual in a bar. His ramblings of a drunken brawl with two men in which he loses and ends up paying them money for, establishes Johnny as a narrator with little to no credibility. In chapter five, Johnny recounts the story in which he encounters a young girl who is a local stripper, who Johnny refers to as â€Å"Thumper†. Thumper is described as somebody who is irresponsibly risquà ©, and even shameful in her morals and beliefs which she attributes in the life she lives, amid drugs, random sexual encounters, and other behaviors that the common person would deem â€Å"unstable†. The average person considers â€Å"stable† to be somebody with a†¦show more content†¦She is somebody who isn’t exactly up to standard in what is deemed a stable life, but she is stable relative to Johnny’s lifestyle. We can look to the average white/blue collar career with a ni ne to five work week, a satisfactory salary, and monogamous relationship as defining what is â€Å"stable†. Thumper is shown to be the opposite of â€Å"stable† as she embodies all of Johnny’s lifestyle choices, making her an unreliable narrator with little to no moral value. Even though she is an unreliable narrator, her consistency in Johnny’s life is greater than that of other characters. Lude is an enabler to Johnny’s behavior, as he only condemns his actions on a few occasions. Lude never cuts contact off with Johnny in attempt to be at his side to help him, yet there is never any clear attempt on the part of Lude to try and get professional help for Johnny. During Johnny’s obsession with Zampano’s novels, he shouts at a customer abruptly causing Thumper to scold him, and warns him about his inappropriate behavior. It eventually leads to thumper to be prompted to fire him, and telling him he needs to seek professional help. This is the first time in which somebody disciplines Johnny for his behavior. Thumper is the first person in Johnny’s life to ever hold him accountable for his actions. This transaction between Johnny and Thumper can be compared to a a mother kicking her child