In Response to Sharon- Ciara Keane

It is interesting what Sharon said about the tile representing a "journey that the narrator takes across the United States to the West", because the sentences that Sharon provided afterwards suggested that she meant not only a physical journey, but a spiritual journey as well.  Without his wife, the narrator has the  freedom to leave his old life behind, and his bold decision to trek across the country to start a whole new life shows his willingness to change.  Sharon also mentions that the narrator and Dean are so drawn to each other because they "seem to be exact opposites".  While this is true, I feel that the narrator is more drawn to Dean than Dean is to the narrator.  Dean is only staying with the narrator to use him for room, board, and knowledge, not because he was particularly looking for a friend in Dean.  After all, Dean is a young, intelligent kid with big hopes for the future, while the narrator is a depressed divorcee without a purpose.  Dean was "conning [Jim] and [Jim] knew it", but this does not bother the narrator because he is just happy for the companionship he finds with Dean.  For this reason, even though Dean is using the narrator, their relationship is not one-sided because the narrator is using Dean too.  He is using Dean as a source of happiness, as well as an inspiration for his future.