Rick Moody Demonology Summary

The pressure of making a living in today’s world detaches some workers from the enjoyment of the little things in life. The days start to repeat themselves and there is no excitement or joy in it all, and the stress piles up until the body can not handle it anymore. In Rick Moody’s “Demonology,” the narrator sees the changes of his sister’s physical and mental state from constantly being busy to support her family but never expects her sudden death. There is no way for the narrator to be prepare for this, and his emotions are over the place. It is hard to realize when someone is falling into the working stereotype and the effects it has on close ones. However, Moody’s characterization of Meredith and style allows a look into the struggles of

He describes the parents’ conversations as “bantering” while also referring to “the difficulties of long marriages” (291). With Meredith being divorced in the story, the narrator views marriages as an agreement that is hard to keep with most people not lasting for long which Meredith fits into that stereotype (293). The narrator gives an account of his sister’s days with “ this part is routine, my sister was tired as hell, she slept the sleep of the besieged, of the overworked..” (294). Moody makes Meredith out to be an overworked single mom who, while still loves her family, dislikes the everyday routine but has no choice but to comply. She is now stuck in a rut and her situation relates to others in the same position as her. She goes through life traveling the same route and working at the same job for years

This gives the author opportunity to use his writing to give personal insight to the situation. Moody gives a first person narrative of a person’s mind when going through a highly unexpected change in their life through the narrator. The story starts sporadically going from present day Halloween to past memories of the narrator with his sister. Moody adds sentences fragments such as “Jokes with the fillip of sentimentality. Anyway, in this picture her blond hair...” (294). The fragments that constantly appears gives the narrator a complex mindset, and the narrator gets off topic throughout the story. After a recent death or just any major change in life, the thoughts of the mind are running trying to make sense of the situation. His mind creates confusion in the story, but this is what the author wants to portray through the