Benjamin is a very practical character...he knows how to get by and how to not make messed. He's been running scams for so long, it's numbed him in a way. He says something so chilling to Ren...it made me reread it several times to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. So a little background info for you: Ren and Benjamin and Tom were grave robbing and one of the bodies they stole was alive! It turned out his name was Dolly, and he was an assassin, but Ren found his sensitive side and befriended him. They tok this man out on one of their grave robbing excursions, and he started choking Benjamin, so Tom hit him with a shovel and knocked him out. When Benjamin said it was time to go, Ren refused to leave Dolly. Benjamin told Ren, "'Look...You just can't go around taking care of people. They'll grow to depend on you and then you won't be able to leave them when you have to.'" I actually felt a little piece of me shrivel up and die. It's happened in this book before, also. I think Benjamin is realistic to the point that's it's just cynical. The sad thing is, what he said is true. It can be applied to growing up, if you think about it. When we grow up, the things we know and love start to become socially unacceptable. This may mean hobbies, it may mean material things, or it may even mean losing your friends, like in this case. Part of growing up is learning what to do and what not to do...and learning about who you want to be as a person. Ren is learning that sometimes, letting things go is for the best.
As I mentioned earlier, everyone has that little something they hold onto from childhood. In this part os the story, Tom recently adopted Ren's friends from the orphanage, two twins named Brom and Itchy. Ren was showing them these very intricately carved toys, and they were playing with them. "The boys were too old for playthings, but all the fear and exhaustion left the twins faces as they looked over the intricately carved wooden pieces." This really shows how comforting holding onto your childhood can be. Amidst all the stress of new situations and just growing up in general, having something familiar brings back memories of a time when things were simple, and frankly it's just a soothing therapy to all the craziness.
The particular way Ren grew up is not at all common. Yet somehow Ren pushed past that, and despite all the terrible things he was exposed to he prevailed and didn’t turn out to be a terrible person. I think Hannah Tinti was trying to say that often times, kids don’t have any control about the way they grow up. It just happens to them. They have to just roll with it and make the best of their situation. Kids are often in a rush to grow up, but Ren wanted to hang on to every moment. He wanted to appreciate every little moment since his life was so unpredictable. I don’t think many children realize what a joy it is to grow up. Sure, there are struggles. But I don’t see the rush when there are even more struggles in adulthood. Childhood doesn’t last a long time, and children should hang onto every moment they can because when it ends, they’ll only wish they had.
Kids should take the time to look around, and stretch out every moment to the fullest...because one day there won't be any more.
