What Happened to the Bennetts

“I grew up on a dairy farm in Hershey, home of the famous chocolate manufacturer. I loved living in a company town, where the air smelled of sweet cocoa and corporate largesse. Everyone worked toward the same goal, even if it was capitalism.”

Jason’s father worshipped the founder of Hershey’s chocolates, and this quote demonstrates the extent to which Jason appreciates and trusts old-fashioned institutions. At this point in the novel, he still believes lawlessness is a rare thing and trusts the FBI. He likes the idea of everyone being on the same team. His belief in institutions gradually erodes as he learns about his wife’s affair and the FBI fails to punish their assailant.

“How about, ‘Allison would be fine, but for the fact that we won the game?’ Or ‘Allison would be fine, but for the fact that we stayed late to celebrate?’ Or ‘Allison would be fine, but for the fact we have a new Mercedes?’”

Jason draws on his legal experiences to explain why “but for” logic is flawed. It is easy to point to causes that made an incident possible, but that is not the same thing as pointing to a cause that directly and intentionally led to the incident. Jason knows that it helps Ethan to have the logic spelled out for him.

“I knew we could not all fall to pieces at the same time. I was Daddy. I was the center, and the center had to hold.”

Jason believes it is his responsibility to put off worry and grief to stay strong for his family. Ethan later tells Jason that he never saw him cry for Allison, and Jason realizes that he might have been showing too strong a face. At the end of the novel, everyone in the family goes to a therapist.