The Idiot Boy

This week's poem was The Idiot Boy. It is one of longest poems we have read this year, but it tells a very simple narrative. The narrative is about Betty and her retarded son, Johnny, trying to help out their neighbor, Susan, who has become very ill. A doctor was needed to tend to Susan and Betty had no one to send except Johnny. So she sends him off to get the doctor, but he does not return for four or five hours. Betty then becomes worried and goes off looking for Johnny. She goes to the doctor and he tells her that Johnny did not come by. Betty later finds Johnny sitting on the horse gazing at a waterfall.

In one of the footnotes of the poem, we read about how people criticized the mother in the story. The critics said her maternal fondness created "a certain degree of disgust and contempt." I can see where people can dislike the mother because of maternal fondness, but I dislike the mother for another reason. The title of the poem is The Idiot Boy and is in relation to Johnny. I personally think the title should have been about the idiot mother. to clarify, Betty goes looking for her son after he is missing for a long time. That is understandable because she is a mother and worried. So where does she go? She goes to the doctor's house and ask if he has seen her son. After hearing his response she then leaves to look for her son. So what is wrong? Her friend Susan is still sick and needed a doctor. The very same doctor that Betty just went to go see about her own son. She could have told the doctor about Susan and have him go to tend to her while she continued looking for her son. But, she forgets her main goal that night after after getting distracted with her new goal.