Silent Passengers by Larry Woiwode
"Silent Passengers" by Larry Woiwode is a poignant story that explores the emotional complexities of a family's recovery following a tragic accident. The narrative is centered around Steiner, a middle-aged silicon-chip company owner, and his nine-year-old son, James, who suffers an injury from a horse accident. Through the father's perspective, readers witness his struggles with guilt and inadequacy, particularly concerning his drinking habits and perceived failings as a parent.
James's recovery is depicted as a gradual process, supported not only by healthcare professionals but significantly by the unwavering love and care of his parents. Steiner's deep-seated anxiety about his son's condition, heightened by his guilt over the circumstances leading to the accident, adds a layer of tension to the story. A critical moment occurs when James instinctively reaches out to his mother, signifying the beginning of his healing journey.
The climax unfolds upon their return to the ranch, where James, despite his challenges, expresses trust towards the horses that once harmed him, symbolizing a turning point in his recovery and the family's healing. The story concludes with a sense of renewal, as the ranch transforms from a mere hobby into a place of hope and resilience, embodying the family's journey towards acceptance and recovery in the face of adversity.
Silent Passengers by Larry Woiwode
First published: 1993
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: The late twentieth century
Locale: A ranch in an unnamed high-plains state in the United States
Principal Characters:
Steiner , a forty-five-year-old business executiveJen , his wifeJames , their nine-year-old sonTheir twin seven-year-old daughters Billy Archer , owner of the horse that injures JamesA Vietnamese emergency room physician A pediatric nurse
The Story
"Silent Passengers" is the deceptively simple story of the gradual and initially uncertain recovery of a young boy from an accident, as seen through the eyes of his father. Steiner is the middle-aged owner of a silicon-chip company on the coast (which coast is never specified). His distant ranch appears to be something between an avocation and a hobby; at any rate, he is not very adept at handling the necessary chores. Just before the accident, he is desultorily attempting to get a tractor to work, a task a neighbor eventually accomplishes. Regardless of how he may appear in his company, he does not seem to be a very forceful figure in this environment; his son James makes a mild joke about Steiner's impotent repetition of the word "but" when confronted by a plumber's refusal to come quickly to repair a broken bathroom. Steiner's character is also deftly indicated in his motivation for the bathroom's repair: He wants his place to appear as comfortable as possible, not for his family, but for the visit of a skillful colleague from the east coast.
Steiner has another deficiency that is alluded to only once in the text, the shadow of which seems to haunt him as he anxiously watches over his injured son. Steiner has a drinking problem and has just drunk two beers while repairing the tractor when he allows James to visit a neighbor's ranch, where the accident occurs. The guilt that Steiner feels for indulging himself and which is partially inspired by the reproach he sees in James's eyes for his drinking, hovers like a shadow behind the text. Even though Steiner does not allow his wife, Jen, to feel any guilt for allowing James to be injured and he does not consciously admit to any blame himself, Steiner's fervid anxiety over his son's condition, which seems to be little more than the powerless anguish that any parent feels over an injured, helpless child, is exacerbated by his sense of guilt over bringing his son to a place where such an accident was possible and his tepid though real resumption of drinking.
James's slow but deliberate recovery is aided by two kind health care workers: the doctor who immediately tends him in the emergency room and the pediatric nurse who helps him through a mild crisis during his early hospital stay. However, it is his parents who are most instrumental in James's essential healing. When James is fading during a mild crisis, it is Steiner's calling of his name that causes his heart rate to recover. When a pediatrician cautions Steiner and his wife not to expect too much, it is Jen's cradling of her son in her arms that evokes James's physical reaction of trying to return his mother's embrace, which signals the beginning of his long recovery.
The climax of the story occurs on the family's return to the ranch, when James, still unable to speak and walking awkwardly, approaches some of the family's quarter horses. Steiner, understandably, fears a recurrence of the accident, but James's instinctive, innocent trust in the essential nature of the creatures who had injured him marks the real beginning of his full recovery (which is briefly related in the final paragraph of the story). The healing for Steiner, James, and their whole family is incarnate in that moment of acceptance when the wind of the high plains causes their hair to rise, "silent in the wind," and the ranch, which had before seemed a rich man's toy, takes on a new beneficial, even salvific, aspect.
Sources for Further Study
Booklist. LXXXIX, August, 1993, p.2038.
Boston Globe. September 7, 1993, p.55.
The Christian Science Monitor. September 21, 1993, p. 11.
Library Journal. CXVIII, July, 1993, p. 124.
Los Angeles Times Book Review. August 22, 1993, p.6.
The New York Times Book Review. XCVIII, September 19, 1993, p.12.
Publishers Weekly. CXL, May 24, 1993, p.66.
San Francisco Chronicle. September 19, 1993, p. REV5.
USA Today. September 28, 1993, p. D6.
The Washington Post Book World. XXIII, October 3, 1993, p.4.