Average Waves In Unprotected Waters Summary

Sometimes you can not provide as much as you want because of your situation. In the short story “Average waves in unprotected waters” by Anne Tyler, Bet is a single mom who has trouble providing for her son, Arnold. Arnold has a mental disorder and does not know his dad who left when he was first diagnosed. Bet wants the best for her son but is having a tough time providing because she does not make a large amount money. She wants Arnold to fit in; have the same clothes as the other boys. The biggest problem that Bet faces is herself. She is a single mom that does not make a lot of money and still has to provide for her mentally disabled son. In a few instances she also faces conflict with Arnold but these are mostly physical challenges, there

They are living “in an ancient, crumbling house” but it was all they could afford. Arnold still manages to tear apart the already crumbling house by ripping things up and peeling off the wallpaper. This results in Bet having to clean up after him. She does it willingly because she wants him to feel loved and that he is no different from anyone else. She tries not to let the things he does affect her, but after all of these years of caring for him it is getting harder. She never fights with herself about caring for him or about the things that he does; she just accepts every act. She does everything she can to give him the best life. On the days she went to work, Arnold would spend the day with Mrs. Puckett. As Arnold was getting older she could no longer manage him by herself because he was to “strong and wild to manage.” She felt ashamed of herself, like she should have done more to help him. Arnolds mom went back and forth with herself about letting Mrs. Puckett watch him and now she can not help him either. She does not want to give him up, she has to make a tough decision as far as what to do to help better Arnold’s life. She knows that she can no longer provide for him and wants to send him somewhere that the people can provide for

One day she packs his bags, says goodbye to Mrs. Puckett and gets on the train. At this point Arnold did not know what was happening or where they were going but this was nothing new since he was slightly clueless much of the time. On the train, Bet felt ashamed of herself for not bringing a picture book for Arnold to look at, although, she did pack many other distractions for him including gum, cookies, and pills in case of an emergency. At last they safely arrived at Parkins State Hospital which was where Bet decided was a better place for Arnold. Bet was nervous because she did not want to leave Arnold and so she told the cab driver to wait for her until she came back from inside, maybe hoping that Arnold would refuse to stay at the hospital. She began to second guess her decision because the place was sad, the kids could not express themselves, and the “flat fronted nurse” which represented the unmotherly nature of the place, reminded her of of how well she cared for him. Bet was scared for him because he did not know what was going on or that he was going to stay there but she needed to trust that he was in good hands and they would help to better his life. As soon as she said goodbye to Arnold she had to leave, she was in a hurry. She first had to make it in time for the train back home, but also she wanted to get away from Arnold so that she could forget and stop thinking of all she could