Analysis Of 'The Casual Vacacy In Fats'

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The Casual Vacancy Final Essay When Barry Fairbrother suddenly dies of a burst aneurysm, the town of Pagford witnesses a power struggle it is evident by the people on the parish council who want to shut down the local methadone clinic and the kids who are rebelling against their parents. Barry Farbrother’s absence seems to have an effect on a substantial amount of citizens of Pagford and Fields. Following his death there is a casual vacancy in the parish council and an election is held, the candidates consists of Miles Millison, Colin “Cubby” Wall, and Simon Price. The teenagers Andrew and Fats fed up with their parents plot against them and start revealing secrets to damage Price and Walls’ campaigns on the parish council’s website …show more content…

Fats is Andrew Price’s best friend for most of the novel; however, Fats betrays Andrew by making out with his crush Gaia. Fats lack of empathy towards his friend is rooted in his attempts to be authentic. Towards the beginning of the novel Fats explains what he believes authentic nature entails. In The Casual Vacancy during Fats’ explanation of what it means being true to oneself it states, “The difficult thing, the glorious thing, was to be who you really were, even if that person was cruel or dangerous, particularly if cruel and dangerous. There was courage in not disguising the animal you happened to be. On the other hand, you had to avoid pretending to be more of an animal than you were: take that path, start exaggerating or faking and you become another Cubby, just as much of a liar, a hypocrite” (75). Fats adopts a philosophy to avoid becoming what he feels is inauthentic, to act against one’s own desires. Fats believes he has an understanding of what it means to be authentic; however, he does not seem to see the bigger picture. Fats rules out the rest of the world in his philosophy and his actions seem to be an act of senseless rebellion towards his parents and what is expected of him. There isn’t much harm in being inauthentic, not to the point where one needs to meticulously judge one’s every action, to find the root of their intentions. Fats rebellion seems to stem from his feeling of not fitting into his family. This type of thinking leads Fats to disregard his friend Andrew’s feeling when he chooses to make out with Gaia which ends their friendship. Fats also is so caught up in his own desires he is partly responsible for Robbie’s death. Fat’s obsession with getting “laid” leads to the toddler’s death. Throughout most of

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