“Always be prepared, she liked to say. Never rely on anyone else to give you things you could get yourself. She despised laziness, softness, people who were weak.”
Deming’s mother underscores the essence of being self-sufficient. She encourages Deming to be hard working so his chances of having a better future would increase. Additionally, she inspires her son to be diligent, instead of being a weakling who cannot aggressively pursue his goals.
“Even if Leon wasn’t his real father-on this topic, his mother was so tightlipped that all he knew about the man was that he’d never been around-he made Deming proud. If he could grow up to be like any man, he wanted to be like Leon.”
Leon is Deming’s Objet petit a for a father. Deming sees Leon as the father figure who takes up the adoration which Deming would have bestowed on his biological father. Unconsciously, Deming yearns for fatherly love and inspiration, and Leon is the only fatherly figure that he knows.
