Average Waves in

Unprotected Waters
Team 7
 Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is a celebrated American author
known for her insightful novels exploring
everyday life, family, and human
relationships. She gained fame with works
like "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant" and
won a Pulitzer Prize for "Breathing Lessons."
Her writing, set often in Baltimore, Maryland,
captures the beauty in ordinary lives. Tyler's
profound storytelling has left an enduring
mark on literature.
 to start with...
The segment begins with Bet waking up her son, Arnold,
and trying to get him to eat breakfast. Arnold, however,
seems apprehensive and unresponsive. His appearance is
described as neat and tidy, yet he looks unusually serious
and worn for a child his age. His face rarely changes
expression. Bet takes care of some household tasks in their
rented room while trying to prepare Arnold for the day.

The room they occupy is in an old, cluttered house, giving

the sense of many lives layered over each other. Bet
dresses in a worn dress, feeling frail and wispy for the tasks
ahead. She models her coat for Arnold, attempting to
engage him and convey the idea that they're going out.
However, Arnold resists wearing his new jacket, displaying
signs of distress and discomfort.
 Plot
Mrs. Puckett
Chewing Blame
Gave Arnold
gum Avery
cookies Bus

Assigning
He ignored her
Arnold thought She could see blame while
He left them
they were his skull bones. reminiscing
going to her He was so thin- about the past
mom’s work. skinned.
 Plot
Tantrum
Lady in the Neat
Arnold was Conductor
purple coat Taxi
getting bored

Very specific
She was afraid She wanted
The discussion instructions to
of a possible The conductor between the him to be seen
the driver
tantrum burst in, as neat and
conductor and
checking the the lady made small.
train tickets. Arnold laugh.
 last pages...
While in the hospital, a nurse gives Bet a
tour and shows her where Arnold will
sleep while she gives her directions on
how to care for him, however, she informs
him that she will not be able to visit him for
six months. She then makes her way to
the train while crying until she learns
about the twenty-minute delay of the train,
and begins to despair about the wait....
At that moment, the mayor of the city
enters the station announcing that he will
give a speech of precisely twenty minutes
so Bet is relieved and believes that they
have come just for her sake, and that from
that moment on, everything would be like
this, "just something on a stage, for her to
sit and watch".
Conclusion
The most all-encompassing
theme of the story is the
struggle to define self-identity.
In a world intent on labeling
women in every way (daughter,
wife, mother, submissive,
inferior, etc.), Bet must push
herself to step outside those
designations and discover the
fabric of her own selfhood.