The Pedersen Kid by William H. Gass
"The Pedersen Kid" by William H. Gass is a short story that explores themes of fear, isolation, and the complex dynamics of human relationships in a rural setting. The narrative begins on a stark winter morning when Big Hans, a hired hand, discovers the unconscious body of the Pedersen Kid after a snowstorm. The boy recounts a harrowing tale of an intruder who forced his family into their fruit cellar, prompting his escape into the brutal weather. As tension mounts, Big Hans and Pa Segren, who share a history of resentment, grudgingly agree to investigate the Pedersen farm.
Their journey is fraught with physical and emotional obstacles, ultimately leading to a tense encounter with the unknown. As the characters grapple with their fears and prejudices, the story delves into the psychological landscape of a child left to navigate trauma and loss. The conclusion leaves Jorge, the Pedersen Kid, contemplating the potential deaths of his family and the adults around him, leading to a profound realization about his own liberation. Gass's narrative invites readers to reflect on the complexities of courage and the impact of adult conflict on a child's psyche.
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The Pedersen Kid by William H. Gass
First published: 1961
Type of plot: Antistory
Time of work: About 1961
Locale: A North Dakota farm
Principal Characters:
Jorge Segren , the young narrator and protagonist, whose perceptions of the journey dominate the storyPa Segren , his father, a brutal drunkBig Hans , the Segrens' hired handThe Pedersen Kid , a neighbor's sonA Murderous unnamed intruder , from whom the Pedersen Kid escaped
The Story
One stark winter morning after a snowstorm, Big Hans, the Segrens' hired hand, finds the unconscious body of the son of a neighboring farm family. After a ritualistic process of revival, the Pedersen Kid, still somewhat delirious, tells the strange, horrifying story of how a yellow-gloved stranger had broken into his house and forced the family into the fruit cellar; the boy escaped into a vicious snowstorm and managed to make his way to the Segren house before collapsing. Now he fears that his parents may have been murdered.
It becomes clear that there is long-standing resentment and competition between Big Hans and Pa Segren, so it is only reluctantly that they manage to agree to set off with Jorge for the Pedersen farm. Circumventing the obstacles of weather and their own antagonism for each other, they arrive and come on the intruder's frozen horse. Hiding in the barn—they are afraid of traversing the open space to the house—they contrive the unlikely project of tunneling unobserved through the snowdrift on the far side of the house. This fails, so they finally decide to risk moving across the yard. Jorge goes first and succeeds, but when his father tries to follow, he is felled by a gunshot. Jorge breaks through a basement window and, anxious and shivering, he awaits the fatal confrontation. No one, however, ever appears. The story concludes with Jorge alone in the Pedersen house, where he considers the presumed deaths not only of the neighbors but also of his own parents and of Big Hans as well. A surprising warmth slowly suffuses him: It is a burning joy, a satisfaction that comes from the brave completion of his duty and, apparently, from having been liberated from the vicious domination of the adults in his life.
Bibliography
Bellamy, Joe David, ed. The New Fiction: Interviews with Innovative American Writers. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1974.
Hix, H. L. Understanding William H. Gass. Columbia: University Press of South Carolina, 2002.
Holloway, Watson L. William Gass. Boston: Twayne, 1990.
McCaffery, Larry. The Metafictional Muse: The Work of Robert Coover, Donald Barthelme, and William H. Gass. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1982.
Saltzman, Arthur M. The Fiction of William Gass: The Consolation of Language. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1985.
Unsworth, John. "Against the Grain: Theory and Practice in the Work of William H. Gass." Arizona Quarterly 48, no. 1 (Spring, 1992).
Vidal, Gore. Matters of Fact and Fiction: Essays, 1973-1976. New York: Random House, 1977.