Something Happened pretty much convinces you that 1960s suburban American was the set of a horror movie. The atmosphere of the novel is so creepily scary that is makes you consider the uncomfortable possibility that despite their smiles and their picket fences, nice suburban Americans are really living in a nasty rat race that's eating their souls.
Fear occupies just about every aspect of daily life for the Slocums. Bob Slocum is afraid of those he works with and lives with. He's also afraid of things like mice hiding in cupboards, closed doors, and random fatal accidents. His son is afraid of pretty much everything, especially public speaking and gym class. Everyone in the Slocum household is afraid to speak freely and openly, and when someone does, everyone is afraid of arguments.
Fear pretty much permeates the narrative structure of the novel. It just can't be avoided.
Questions About Fear
- What has caused everyone to become afraid of everyone else in the office? At home?
- How might honest communication resolve some of Slocum's personal and professional fears? Or would it solve nothing, like the many suicides we read about in the novel?
- Do Slocum's fears have a controlling effect on him? Is he able to overcome some of them?
Chew on This
Slocum's son is afraid of just about everyone and everything because his own father has instilled such fears within him.
Everyone is so afraid in the novel because underneath it all, their world is actually legitimately scary.