The Complexity Of Junior In Salvage The Bones
Junior in Salvage the Bones only 10 years of age, but his character adds complexity and complexity to Ward’s story. Mama died after Junior was born, leaving his family without a father and forced to live in the Pit alone. The youngest Bastiste brother, Junior, was left without a mother and no peers his age. This forced him to grow up faster than most 10-year-olds. Junior’s sisters and brothers still see him as a baby and don’t realize the horrors that have forced them to mature. Junior constantly tries to prove to Randall Sketah and Esch that his life is not as naive as he thinks. Katrina’s Pit encounter leaves the reader only with a scarred shell and traumatized by the stormy waters.
Junior is more familiar with his surroundings than his siblings. Junior, who is the only Batiste brother, quickly recognizes Randall’s distress after his encounter in the restroom with Manny. Esch describes Junior at this point, “I want Junior walking ahead of myself back to the gym. He walks slowly, but then he walks faster so he doesn’t forget me. It takes 10 minutes to walk to the front.” (147). She then adds that “he wraps his arm around mine elbow as if to escort me” (147). Esch expected Junior to leave the gym with the other children, but he doesn’t. Esch expects Junior, who is not a mature man, to go off with the other children and leave Junior alone. Junior’s dad, who is frequently drunk and uninterested, carries the weight of Junior’s childhood onto his older children. Junior is not protected from the more mature activities his older siblings engage in. Esch tells Big Henry and the family that they are heading to Randall for a basketball game. “I am happy to be sitting in backseat beside the window in our car, Junior’s bonyrump squirming, Sketah in mid-pulling at the blunt. Marquise next us at the other windows, opaque through the smoke. Esch’s casual description of the events does not reflect the bizarre reality that Junior is allowed to smoke marijuana within a car. Junior is still the baby, and is treated like he is unaware of the events at the Pit. Junior is shown a moment of great insight in the novel when he finds Daddy with his broken finger and his wedding bands still on his finger. It was there… I can see things!” (185). This is obvious because Junior was growing frustrated at his family’s belief he was simply naive, and that he has no concerns or ideas about the world around him.
Junior is exposed by Hurricane Katrina. While he does not try to be mature anymore, he is clearly terrified and dependent on his older siblings. Junior is quiet throughout the entire chapter, while his siblings fight Katrina and are barely surviving. Junior still feels so traumatized and dependent on Randall in the days that follow the hurricane. Esch tells the story of Junior climbing onto Randall’s head again as Randall pulls Junior’s arm under his legs while they go to St. Catherine’s. Junior’s cheek brushes Randall’s. The hurricane clearly caused Junior to lose his “mature beyond years” persona. In one day, the stubborn, brave, and determined character of Junior that is described in the rest the novel becomes a scared child. The novel’s final chapters reveal that Junior’s life was not easy and that he could not have prepared for the terrible events Katrina brought. While he may be more experienced than most 10-year-olds, he still is a young man.
Junior is treated unfairly in the novel by his siblings. He is exposed to events intended for adults much older than he is, but they don’t realize how inappropriate their actions are for a young boy. Junior becomes a “shield”, as Esch refers to him (140). Junior is beginning to show signs of maturing as a protector, but Katrina shows that he’s still a young boy, very scared, who may not be ready to take on the responsibility.
