Frederick Buechner's Novella, The Wizard's Tide: A Story

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Recommended: Imagination's role in the individual

In Frederick Buechner’s novella, The Wizard’s Tide: a story, Teddy develops more realistic views through becoming aware of his family’s denial and realizing the burden that it puts on them. Facing reality is important, not just for Teddy, but for his family as well because in the end, avoidance is what leads to both his and their affliction. Teddy has always been faced with people in his life that have had unrealistic views, so when he is upset with his situation, he naturally tries to fix the problem the same way others he knows would: by avoiding it. Teddy is therefore a very immature character to begin with, being filled with corrupt views that others have made him to believe. In life, he must realize that it is not always okay to believe that everything is okay.
To deal with reality, Teddy has his own methods of coping. Like others have made him believe to be right, he copes by escaping problems. However, unlike both his parents, Teddy has a much more serious escape. Instead of changing his world to be what it is not, he completely escapes his reality by entering another one. The books that Teddy reads provide more than just comfort, they give him false hopes. This proves true because, even when Teddy returns from his escape, he still remains entranced in a world of his own, bringing aspects of the fictional life into his real life. The magic and security that books provide allow Teddy to imagine his life as a book, where he can be the hero of his own story. Teddy’s hope provided from the books is shown in the times where he even attempts to incorporate the magic into his own life, using phrases such as “PYRZQXGL”(pg. 50), believing that he can save his real problems with false solutions. Due to Teddy’s corrupted reality and t...

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...issue, talking through them to lessen the hurt. Their situation is bigger and worse than a word like “well”, “now” or “before”. With his realization comes maturity and the courage to speak up, rather than act to resolve things, as he and Bean acknowledge that, despite being pulled away, even their father can be carried home with the tide.
Throughout the novella, Teddy matures and finds out how to deal with problems, rather than escaping them. Unlike others, he develops the ability to talk through problems and create more realistic views for himself that allow him to try and resolve his situation, instead of denying it. His character is significant to the story because, while he may not have been the hero needed to save his father, his experience in past problems has lead him to know how to deal with future issues.

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The Wizards Tide: a story

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