![]() ![]() We can say, with certainty, that Harvey's childhood was almost the complete opposite of Susie's. We can see that Harvey's father is an abusive person, but aren't given details. Still his father passes along his knowledge of building to his son. He can't tell people that his father " in the desert shacks of broken glass and old wood" (8.3). As a kid, Harvey is ashamed that his father doesn't have a 'normal' job. His family, before and after his mother disappears from it, seems pretty transient. At some point Harvey's father abandons his mother in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. We learn that his mother was a desperate woman who taught Harvey to shoplift and even rob victims of roadside fatalities from alongside the road. "According to the experts, there is no common thread tying serial killers together-no single cause, no single motive, no single profile." ( source: FBI report on serial murder) Susie can see into Harvey's past and she tells us some of what she sees. Susie's constant use of the title "Mr." to refer to her rapist is disconcerting, but it pushes home the point that she viewed him as an authority figure, someone to be trusted, and if not trusted, obeyed. We watch along with her in suspense for Harvey's guilt to be made known. The readers are Susie's confidants, privy to the secret she wishes wasn't secret. This is a powerful use of dramatic irony. It's a much-noted fact that Harvey is revealed as Susie's killer from the first pages. Susie is subtle but clear that he carries on his brutalities after her death, but if she sees his hideous acts, she doesn't do much reporting back on them. ![]() Harvey leaves Susie's suburban neighborhood, she doesn't watch him as closely, unless he's thinking about Lindsey, or moving back toward her family. ![]() Although indispensable to the novel, his story is always secondary to the stories of Susie and her loved ones. He's the 36-year-old neighbor who rapes and murders Susie, within minutes of her own home. Harvey is a sexual predator, a rapist, a serial killer. ![]()
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