I am the Cheese
... only means of transportation from Monument to Rutterburg. Next, Adam’s life begins to become extremely complex, almost too much for him to handle. Usually in tough, troubled times a person would turn to God, parents, or even close friends, but Adam must keep all the secrets about his life to himself. Brint, the psychologist, comments, “Although Amy was the most important person in his life, he couldn’t bring himself to talk to her about the doubts that tormented him.” Amy Hertz is Adam’s best friend and always brings delight to his day. He desires to share the secret about his family’s false identity with Amy but he is sworn to secrecy. Therefore, realism is portrayed through Adam’s life because of the rigorous realities he faces every day of his life. Second, irony is another trait Cormier uses in I am the Cheese. Patricia J. Campbell says, “Now the novel seems filled with…huge ironies”(Campbell 84). The ironies displayed throughout the novel are extremely significant to understanding the plot itself. The perception of the ironies in I am the Cheese shows much of the meaning of the novel. The first irony is seen at the time of Adam’s departure for Rutterburg. He is on his way to visit his father. In reality, Adam is in an institution, but he neglects to think that. He says, “I swung out into the street and a car howled its horn at me for staying too far into the roadway…”(Cormier 5). Adam thinks the car is just some crazy person on the road, but realistically it is a car leaving the parking lot of the institution. The next irony includes Adams identity. His family includes his mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. Farmer. As the novel progresses, the Farmer’s are actually the Delmonte’s. Adam grows up not knowing his true identity and when he finds out the truth, unclear things begin to become clear to him, including the role of Mr. Grey. Mr. Grey’s part is to help the family in keeping their location confidential so the “bad guys” will not find and kill the Farmer family. Later in the novel, Adam, along with his family, is involved in a car wreck. After the wreck Adam sees the people who ran his family down to cause the wreck and he replies, “Gray pants”(Cormier 202). This is ironic that Mr. Grey who is supposed to be helping the family, turned out to be perceived as the “bad guy.” Clearly the use of ironies makes the novel have more depth and it is more understandable. Finally, Cormier includes symbolism in the novel. Paul Ettenson comments, “As in other novels, Cormier uses symbolism…”(Ettenson 595). Cormier uses many symbolic examples, including the wind, dogs, and a typical nursery rhyme to emphasize important meanings from the novel. Symbolism may be very easily overlooked, but finding the many examples of it makes the novel so much better. Adam appears to have many problems in his life, including claustrophobia. Many times throughout the novel, he refers to being claustrophobic, like in elevators. At the point in time when he is leaving Monument, Massachusetts he says, “ I let myself join the wind, soaring over the road as I coast beautifully down into Aswell” (Cormier 5). He is leaving Monument on his own will and does not even tell anyone. Th...