Death

Death runs in the Slocum family, and though we're gonna go out on a limb and say that death kind of runs in everyone's family, we're not gonna argue with this dude. Though everyone dies at one time or another, death is definitely a frequent occurrence in Slocum's life.

Let's see: Slocum's dad died when he was young, his mother deteriorated before she finally kicked the bucket, his brother croaked suddenly, and his own son is killed in an ironic twist of fate by Slocum's own hands.

The son Slocum wants dead, Derek, won't seem to die, and neither will the people he despises at the office. Slocum doesn't enjoy calling hospitals for fear of receiving bad news that someone he knows had gone under, yet he enjoys calling hospitals to hear how they deliver the news to him once he already learns someone he knows has died. Right.

Death is also a likely outcome for single girls who are, let's say, a bit promiscuous well past their expiration date (that would be their twenties). Slocum assumes that his mistress Penny will never marry and will probably kill herself. Virginia ended it before she got too old, and if his daughter turns out to be like one of these girls, she will likely take her own life, too. So on the one hand, while death seems like an escape from being single, one look at Slocum's unhappy wife will reveal that marriage is no better an option for young girls.

As with both the trends in Slocum's family and with the women he knows, death is cyclical. It's routine and predictable. It happens, but then people move on. The death of Slocum's son is most revealing of this dynamic, since Slocum's period of mourning seems to be cut short by the positives his corporate advancement affords. He occasionally remembers how much he misses his son, but like the cycle of death, the feels come and go with the passing of time.