Reg the Misunderstood

Reg is misunderstood throughout the story. Not only is he misunderstood by his family but he is also misunderstood by himself. He does not even know the world in which he lives. I believe his arrogance has created a world that nobody else is allowed into and he isn’t allowed out of. It almost seems as though he has brainwashed himself against the world. Only a traumatic incident can weaken the walls of his world and allow the bliss of some peaceful escape where he can finally interact with another individual on the grounds of caring and understanding. The traumatic issues in his life which I am referring to, begins with the death of his beloved son Kent and heightens to a revolutionary point with the assumed death of his not so beloved son Jason. Once Reg finally opens his mind and enters a world where belief and doubt surround your everyday life does he realize the benefit of understanding and compassion for feelings. Unfortunately by this point, he is alone. He is lucky enough to have Heather as a friend with whom he can trust. To put it plainly, the only reason he has Heather is because she wasn’t around Reg long enough to create a deep loathing towards the man as the rest of his family did. I also personally believe that Heather communicates with Reg out of pure obsession with Jason. He is the only person who is a part of Jason that she has left, these factors make there relationship one of opportunity and convenience.
My feelings towards Reg are simply of anger and pity. I hate the psychological issues he inflicted upon his family. His cold hearted ways made there lives more difficult. It was no wonder his wife turned into an alcoholic, broke his knee and left him. All he ever did was kick his family when they were down. Like when he called Jason a murdered after the massacres, or when he told Barb that one of her twins did not have a soul. In my opinion, only a man with no soul could say either of those things. Yet another part of me feels pity towards Reg. Especially near the end of the story when he has had his revelation and is beginning to understand. He is so alone, so full of regret and remorse. It is unfortunate that his revelation or finding of identity, whatever you want to call it, did not occur earlier in his life. Before he pushed everyone away for his beliefs or before those he cared about left him because of them. On the other hand, maybe it would have been better if Reg would have never entered a world that had doubt, he would have finished his life and died vainly but maybe he would have died a happier man.