Character Profile Assignment

The story “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriult is about two brothers who go picking peas for their family. The main character Arnold brought a gun because he wanted to hunt. Arnold was climbing a pasture and got caught on a wire when his gun that he was carrying ended going off and shot his brother. He ended up going home and not saying a word to his family. His family ended up finding their son Eugie’s dead body in terror. They were in utter shock and blamed Arnold for everything that happened. Arnold’s psychological disorder is depression and PTSD. Arnold’s actions and reaction his brother dying shows his traumatic response as PTSD. Arnold also has “no emotional reaction”, he is numb and that represents depression. Depression is a persistent feeling of sadness or numbness. 

Arnold’s has his raw emotions trapped in his head. When the trigger blew off and shot his brother, Arnold had a “anxious nudge in his voice”. (Berriault, 3) Arnold had lost his brother in an instant and his immediate reaction was to act nonchalantly. He left his “still” body on the ground. Arnold was fixated on “picking peas”.  He went to the house acting like nothing happened and when asked what all the noise was and where Arnold was he said “Eugies dead” in a blunt way. His mother decided to go check with Anolds father because it was as she “ afraid to be left alone”. Arnold stayed in the house thinking to himself what would happen to him or what would his parents think of him. He was so entranced with picking peas until the sun went down that he waited all that time to tell his parent that his brother was accidentally shot with his gun. Arnold was then asked a few questions by the sheriff. The sheriff asked if they were “good friends” but Arnold didn’t understand. Eugie was everything to Arnold, he “wanted to be with Eugie more than anybody else”. Eugie meant the world to him but he didn’t want to elaborate on his emotions. Arnold is introverted and doesn’t really speak his mind enough. He Arnold shows symptoms of PTSD. PTSD is a mental disorder triggered my a traumatic event. Arnold’s traumatic event was accidentally shooting his brother. Arnold shows signs of avoiding to talk about the event, feeling numb or detached emotionally, difficulty showing positive emotions and always being on guard for any danger. Arnold started showing PTSD symptoms when he nonchalantly told his parents that his brother was dead. He said it so causal that his parents thought he was joking. Arnold also showed a different physical reaction to his brother being shot, another person would of screamed and cried in shock and ran to tell their parents but Arnold kept picking peas until the sun went down and went on to the house like a regular day. This shows he is detached from reality and that he has a numbness. He does not not know how to feel so he reacts in a way that benefits him. But in that way everyone treats him differently. Many believe that Arnold “doesn’t give a hoot”. When in reality Arnold has PTSD from the event and no one seemed to notice his emotions but the lack of his emotions. If everyone payed attention to his lack of emotions, his own parents should acknowledge that he is suffering in silence and needs comfort from his only family. For example when Arnold was knocking on his mothers door. “He had come to clasp her in his arms and, in his terror, to pommel her breaths with his head.” He wanted to gain the comfort from his own mom but she told him “Go back to bed, Arnold,”. This was a cry for help and his mother showed him no affection which caused him to keep being detached and feeling alone.

Arnold has his emotions being neglected by his own mother which really affected him as a person. Arnold’s lack of interest in how tings unfolded shows his depression. Arnold has depression considering he feels emptiness and his personality change. Arnold has shown that he has changed mentally due to his family neglecting him and thinking differently of him. Considering he feels alone without his brother he rather “be away from the farm all morning”. His lack of interest in being with his family during a hard time has caused his depression. He feels the need to self isolate and be away from his family considering his mother has treated him like a criminal and has not once asked “Are you okay?”. Instead she asks if Arnold is afraid of the dark. He feels the need to be in a different setting than his own home to self isolate. The audience can feel empathetic for Arnold considering he would rather keep to himself than be vulnerable. His environment has made him feel like a plant not growing without sunlight. He feels voiceless and has trouble concentrating. At the end of the story the mother ask Arnold if he was knocking at her door. He replied with “ I didn’t want nothing” he said flatly”. He tries to mask how he truly feels by acting emotionless. When in reality “his legs trembling from the fright his answer gave him.” Arnold did not know who the person he was becoming. He feel numbness and tries to act like he is not guilty. His real emotions are all in his head but he chooses to self isolate considering the affection his parents gave him. He feels the need to deal with his depression alone which will not lead to a healthy lifestyle. 

Overall, in “The Stone Boy” the main character Arnold has shown in his behaviour and how his perception of grief affects his mind with depression and PTSD. Arnold has shown that the traumatic event of shooting his brother makes him have flashback and feel “emotionless”. Arnold shows his his depression with feeling numb and having to self isolate considering the lack of affection from his very own mother. 

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