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Matt Morrison by Caroline Pallotta
Matt is a 17-year-old living in Crow Lake, a small town in Northern Ontario, Canada. He has a an older brother, Luke, and two younger sisters, Kate and Bo. He is especially close with Kate. They often spend time walking down from their house towards a pond where they look at the insects that inhabit the area. Matt has always been more fun-loving compared to his brother. After his parents are killed in a car crash, he feels the levity of responsibility he has to his family. When the children are threatened to be separated and sent to different family members, the two brothers work together to keep the siblings under one roof. Luke gives up his scholarship to start working so that Matt can continue with school. He claims that Matt will do more with an education anyway. Matt is determined to also get a scholarship to college, so he has to study often and spends long days at school. Kate feels like she has been left behind because Matt doesn't have as much time for her anymore.
Who is Matt? What motivates him?
A Decision Made By Matt
Matt chose to have a sexual relationship with Marie Pye. Because the couple was unmarried, this was an immoral decision to make. The relationship did not have to physically evolve to this stage. Rather, if the two were serious about each other, they should have spent more time getting to know one another as people and each other's boyfriend/girlfriend. Perhaps the couple could have arranged to go out for a night, with the permission of Mr. Pye and by working out a deal for babysitting with Luke. If that did not work out, because the couple was indeed limited in both time alone and money, they could have taken any measure to get to know one another better without resorting to such an adult activity.
Matt probably did what he did because he wanted to comfort Marie. It is hard to discern if he truly loved her from Kate's point-of-view, but he most likely slept with her as a show of gratitude at the very least. She was a good friend to him. She always stopped to talk to him on walks home from the pond, and they saw each other all summer long when Matt worked on the Pye farm. Matt could also have been using Marie selfishly. He probably needed a way to make himself feel better with the sudden influx of responsibility, the surprise of his parents' deaths, and the cultural pressure of stoicism. Sexual release might have seemed like the best way to eliminate the tension he felt.
Nobody forced Matt and Marie to start a sexual relationship as they got to know each other better. The choice to do so was of their own volition. However, some unresolved relationships between family played a part into the decision both Matt and Marie used. Marie had a very difficult familial relationship. Her father was part of a long line of abusive men, and he did not hesitate to raise his children in the same manner in which he grew up. Matt also had family issues with the sudden loss of his parents, and his hectic schedule of school, work, and watching his two little sisters. To the young couple's credit, however, abortion was not considered an option. They chose to deal with the results of their choices, which included respecting the right to life.
The consequences of Matt's choice were numerous and affected many. The most prevalent result is Marie's pregnancy with Simon. Matt now has the responsibility of taking care of a son and eventually, a wife. This is not easy for someone who is helping to support a family of four already. His determination to get an education is now a lost cause. He can't go to school and make enough money to provide for a family. He also loses touch with a person who looks up to him like no one else: his sister, Kate. Kate felt pushed aside when he started his relationship with Marie. Through the flashbacks in the novel, the reader understands that Kate still feels far away from her big brother after eighteen years. If Marie's father had not committed suicide, that would have been a tumultuous situation to contend with. Marie could have died in childbirth and Matt would have been left alone with a baby to care for in addition to the rest of his siblings. In the hand that the couple had been dealt, they seemed to have done the best they could with the options they had.
OBJECT
INTENTIONS
CIRCUMSTANCES
CONSEQUENCES
The decision to engage in a sexual relationship while unmarried is an immoral decision in my opinion. I would classify both Matt and Marie as "damaged" people. They have been through a lot, and have been put through situations and experiences that the majority of people will (luckily) never know. The root of the situation is, choosing to have pre-marital sex was not a good decision. There were extenuating circumstances and motives, but they do not justify the original action.
