Oof, the Major. Where do we even start? In Punkzilla, Jamie's dad is a horror show, and his three sons go in radically different directions. P becomes a left-wing gay playwright in Memphis; Jamie becomes a pot-smoking teenage runaway; and Edward sticks around in Cincinnati being exactly who his parents want him to be. Each response has its pros and cons, but one thing's for sure: Jamie and P aren't willing to stick around and watch their dad abuse their mom. However, as Jamie learns when he hits the road, there's all kinds of messed-up families can be (cough, Kent and Marty).
Questions About Family
- Do Jamie and P call their father the Major rather than Dad out of sarcasm, or because he asked them to?
- Is it possible to apply military principles to raising your kids, or is that strategy always destined to fail?
- What does Jamie need from his parents that he doesn't get? How does P fill that void?
Chew on This
Jamie's punk identity is an extension of his relationship with P, a way in which P has helped make Jamie who he is in a major way.
Jamie and Branson support themselves by pretending to represent April Yon, a kid who, like them, is missing, but who, unlike them, has a concerned family.