Welding with Children

Tim Gautreaux’s “Welding with Children” debuted in the March 1997 issue of The Atlantic. Gautreaux was born in Louisiana, and his novels and short stories, like this one, draw from his experience of growing up in a Southern, blue-collar family. His characters include a range of rural Louisiana residents, many of whom struggle with societal and generational changes. Gautreaux has received numerous awards, most notably the 1999 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Book Award for his novel The Clearing and the 1999 Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA) Book Award for his novel Next Step in the Dance. “Welding with Children” follows Bruton, a small-town man who must babysit his four grandchildren regularly, prompting him to consider his own identity within the town and as their caretaker. The story explores such themes as The Responsibility of Parenthood, The Price of Redemption, and The Importance of Community.

This guide cites the original version published in The Atlantic in 1997.

The story is told from the first-person perspective of Bruton, a welder in the fictional town of Gumwood. Bruton has four daughters who each have a child that they raise on their own.