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ENGWR 301
28 September 2016
The Infinite Tides Novel Discussion #1
A. The main character of the story, Keith Corcoran has lost his family. His core issues are
selfishness, anti-social behavior, delusion, and a sense of self-righteousness. As
illustrated by the conversation he has with his daughter when she was still alive regarding
the numbers and their colors, Keith tends to isolate himself from the rest of the world
because he feels superior to other people due to his ability to think rationally. Ironically,
Keith has an illogical way of looking at his tragedy. He refuses to accept the fact his
family is over, refuses to accept his daughters death. I think it is interesting to see how
he attempts to look at things from a logical perspective, yet he stays at his old house for
some reason as if he was self-inflicting further suffering. I think he needs to learn that life
is not black and white, understand that life is not an equation with one correct answer.
Furthermore, I consider one of his main issues to be the fact he values himself more than
anything or anyone else. Keith needs to learn what it means to have a family and friends,
he seemed bewildered by his wifes announcement that she had left their house and had
an affair with another man due to him not talking to her. Relationships are not a oneway emotional exchange in which his family supports him without him giving anything
back.

B. Two important topics the novel introduces are coping with the death of a loved one and
unfaithfulness.

The Infinite Tides illustrates the grieving process of Keith Corcoran after his
daughter dies in a car accident and displays his lack of care and compassion for
his family and other people around him.

The Infinite Tides reveals Keith Corcoran uses his sexual desire and lust for his
neighbor, Jennifer, to cope with the loss of his family.

What helped me identify the topic of coping with death was the nonexistent willingness
of Keith to get over the death of his daughter. He seemed to get to a logical answer when
thinking about his wife leaving him. Shockingly, he does not really seem to have conclusively
accepted his daughters death up to this point in the story. He reminisces about the moments he
shared with her but does not cry or think about his feelings in regards to Quinn, is he sad? Is he
depressed? The reader could deduce he is depressed but Keith himself would not admit it.
Jennifer is a very intriguing character in the story. Although Keith does not seem to care
much about his neighbors after he comes back to his house, he seems to have an increasing
interest in Jennifer. Keith did not really show any interest in helping out Jennifers daughter with
her report but used it as a way to get close to her mother. Several times, Keith forgets or
dismisses the painful or stressful memories from his marriage or fatherhood by thinking and
lusting after Jennifer as shown right before the dinner with Jennifer and Nicole when he is
reflecting on the way Quinn dealt with her grandfathers death and the role he played in that
situation.

C. I would describe Kiefers writing style to be descriptive but too in-depth. That can be a
positive thing at times, for example, several paragraphs end up being incredibly long
explaining one specific moment in the story that has no real significance to the
development of Keiths character but it gives us a good sense of the emptiness he is
feeling. I found his metaphors, especially the ones referring to outer space, to be
entertaining and highly accurate at portraying Keiths frame of mind.

D. One item that suggests itself as a literary symbol is Keiths cellphone. Every time the
phone rings, it ignites an instant sense of dread and irritation on the main character. So far
in the story, no matter who it is that calls Keith, it is always an unpleasant exchange from
Keiths point of view. Mullins, Erickson, the psychiatrist and the most obnoxious of all,
Barb. Keiths cellphone represents a constant reminder his wife abandoned him, his
employer forcefully put him on vacation and his daughters dead.
Jennifer suggests herself as a literary symbol in the story. She represents lust and
adultery. Since the moment Keith met Jennifer, he was attracted to her and he even feels
the urge to masturbate right after having a short exchange with her on the street. In
addition, Jennifer makes a lot of suggestive comments towards Keith to entice him. She is
aware that Keith is still legally married, she even met Barb and Quinn when they were
still living in front of her house. That doesnt seem to influence her risqu behavior.
Jennifer illustrates the need Keith has for sexual companionship, even though he would
not acknowledge that.

E. Although the novel started slow, after having read more than five chapters, I believe it is
fairly compelling. I think it is a decent literary work that brings up a lot of interesting
perspectives about death, love, work, adultery and life in general. To some extent, the
main character has an attitude to which one person can relate to. I do find Keith to be
irksome and neglectful, I dislike the main characters approach to dealing with tragedy
and his peers but at the same time I can understand his struggle as a member of society. I
feel Kiefer did a good job of demonstrating the psychological problems Keith suffers; the
equation metaphors were fitting to the state the protagonist finds himself in. I am
interested to learn what happens later in the story.

Works Cited
Kiefer, Christian. The Infinite Tides: A Novel. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print.