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The First Day of Winter by Breece D’J Pancake

Introduction

The short story First Day of Winter is the final selection in stories of Breece Pancake that follows the desperate circumstances under which Hollis, a West Virginia farmer lives. Hollis lives as a bachelor on the family farm and struggles to take care of his parents and at the same time make ends meet. In the story, the main character is stuck in unfulfilled anticipation and is trapped in the hope that change will happen. The story explores the dynamics of cyclicality, stasis, and impermanence. Pancake compares the shift in human relationships and raises questions about how to deal with distance in our lives including distance from people we love and the places we live. The purpose of this essay is to explain why Hollis feels like he is attending his own funeral.

Family Neglect

First Day of Winter represents a meditation on distance and loneliness that exists with the family context. For Hollis, the family farm has become more of a prison. Hollis is the protagonist in this case. He lives with his ailing parents. The author describes Hollis’s father as “blind and coughing” and his mother’s “mind is half gone from the blood too thick in her veins”. Hollis feels feel trapped and is struggling to take care of his parents which begin to slowly weigh down on him. Hollis has a brother called Jake who has a life going on for himself. Jake left the farm, married, fathered two children, and became a preacher. When Hollis asks his brother Jake to take in their parents and live with them with his family, Jake refuses. Hollis comes up with the idea o taking his parents to the state home but Jake refuses to claim that the staff there would starve and mistreat them.

Torment

Another reason why Hollis is feeling like he is attending his funeral is the torment that he goes through in an attempt to find a solution for his problems. He struggles to amen ends meet and at the same time care for his old and ailing parents. He is alone without someone to help him now that his brother Jake has refused to their parents in. When Holli’s father insists that he should go squirrel hunting in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner, Hollis dilemma is evident. In his imagination, Hollis comes up with a way out of the situation although ruthlessly. The author notes ” For a moment, Hollis wondered what it would be like to smother them and in the same moment caught himself laughing; but a darkness has covered him, and he pulled his gloves on to hide the blood on his hands.” When he returns from the hunt, he sees fear and knowledge in his mother’s wide-set eyes. Her mother knew and could see how insanity was driving him to the edge.

The solitude and Economic Distress

Hollis is struggling with his kinship obligations and at the same time, his economic situation makes him further immobile. Hollis is going through a stultifying phase in his life. He does not have the means to resolve the problems at the farm or abandon his parents. Further, his parents see him as a failure and they compare him to his brother Jake who has his life all figured out. Hollis does not have a wife or girlfriend and neither does he have drinking or hunting buddies (Blackburn, 109). He has to confront his trials by himself and in solitude. His incapacity breeds thoughts about killing which for a hunter like himself is a source of power. As the story concludes, it remains unclear what the fate of his parents is.

Conclusion

The First Day of Winter is an account of Hollis trials and tribulations as a bachelor living on a farm in West Virginia. He is faced with the challenge of taking care of the farm and at the same time tending to his old and ailing parents. His only sibling Jake who moved out, married, and has a life going on for himself refuses to help him take care of their parents and is also opposed to the idea of taking them to a state home. The story provides an account of the economic distress, torment, and family neglect that Hollis has to contend with; issues that make him feel like he is attending his own funeral.

Works Cited

Blackburn, Christopher. “The American Pastoral Tradition and The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake.” (2017).