Franky Pierson’s family has always been one to envy,
famous football player father turned broadcaster whom America adores, his
doting wife and their smart, well-adjusted children.  What strangers don’t see and friends choose not to see, is a
family headed for tragedy.

Franky’s father has always been strict but it has
escalated now that her mother has decided that being a trophy wife is not
enough for her, she wants to make a name for herself with her artwork.  Reid Pierson dismisses his wife’s
aspirations and tries to maintain his stranglehold over the family.  As the tension mounts, it becomes more
difficult for Franky to overlook her father’s nastiness.  A frightening situation shows Franky a side
of herself that she didn’t realize was there. 
She decides to call this side of herself Freaky Green Eyes.  Now when her father belittles her, this side
begins to emerge. Franky isn’t entirely comfortable with her new boldness but
it becomes critical to listen to this other side when her mother disappears.

The dysfunction within the Pierson family is
staggering to the reader.  Oates does a
magnificent job showing how one person can control a family and cause pure
terror within an ideal looking family. 
The reader feels the true fear that Frankly, her mother and sister
experience whenever they’re confronted by Reid Pierson.  It angers the reader that this brutality has
gone on as long as it has but Oates is able to show the tenderness that the
father is able to use to keep them believing in him. The reader feels each
emotion with the characters right up until the climatic moment.  Even when Reid Pierson isn’t in the room,
you are left looking over your shoulder, seeing if he’s behind you.

© 2005 Amy Ridley

Amy Ridley received a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University.

Categories: Children