The Struggle for Acceptance in Vanderhaege’s Drummer
Guy Vanderhaege’s short story Drummer revolves around a boy who is just trying to find his place in a society where one can only be successful and well liked if they fit the stereotypical description of a jock. The problem is that Billy is the exact opposite of the big, strong, and athletic figure that this small-town praises, on the other hand Billy’s brother gene fits the letter perfectly. Gene can do whatever he pleases without question from his family or the towns people and still be held on a pedestal while no matter how Billy acts he is always thought of as a just a kid with a bad attitude. We are very sympathetic towards Billy in Drummer as he struggles to be treated as an equal as he is forced to live in the shadow of his elder brother Gene.
To this small mining town Gene is considered a “god-like” figure who can do no wrong. Whether it be in the eyes of his parents, other families, or any of the girls at school he is the best athlete and the most popular kid in town. It is exactly these traits that cast such a large shadow on Billy, even though Billy is by far a more educated person, has a better set of morals, and is willing to take responsibility for his actions he is always outshone by his older brother and because of this we feel pathos for our protagonist. The sad fact is that everyone is so blinded by their attention to Gene that Billy is over looked.
Billy’s father only reinforces the idea that that Billy is in a way broken or defective because he is not like his brother Gene “Jesus Christ Almighty, I’m blessed with a son like this? What’s the matter with you? Why can’t you ever do anything I can understand?” (Vanderhaege). The father criticizes Billy on everything he does good or bad, Billy actually gets into more trouble for attending church than his brother did for crashing his father’s car “Shut your mouth. Don’t go dragging your brother into this. Anyway, what he did was accidental. But...