when i established the relationship between the narrator and his mother in “on intervention” i couldn’t help but be reminded of a similar relationship that we saw in a different piece of literature: “endgame” by samuel beckett. the dependency expressed in the relationship between the narrator and his mother is reminiscent of the relationship between hamm and clov. however, the stories themselves also share a sort of self-deprecating humor – not in the characters necessarily, but in the language used to build the stories.
for instance, the very first line of “drown” gets funnier every time i read it: “my mother tells me Beto’s home, waits for me to say something, but i keep watching the TV.” it’s so sassy but also reveals a crucial insight into what the relationship is like between the narrator and his mother. through the entire play of “endgame”, the lines of dialogue between hamm and clov is silly, if not moronic – which is funny in a sad way. it’s likely that some members of the audience would have no idea what is going on while watching the play – which is also a feeling a reader might get from reading “drown”.
but the dependency in these relationships is what’s significant. hamm and clov depend on each other for their survival – be it hamm’s physical need for clov to move him around or clov’s mental need for conversation. it’s an endless cycle of trying (but, one may argue, ultimately failing) to provide for what the other one needs. the narrator’s mother wants to provide motivation for him through pushing him into the company of Beto whom – unbeknownst to the mother – is toxic for the narrator. the narrator passes off the money he made off of selling drugs to his mother pushes her into the company of the narrator’s father, who is also not healthy for her. the endless cycles being portrayed in these stories have a very real basis in life. while we may not need someone else to survive or be pressured into being friends with someone that makes sexual advances at us, we can all relate to being in a situation where there is no clear answer, because we either lose out on something that we want (having that relationship) or suffer the consequences which derive from getting what we want (the cons of being in that relationship).