Blame? IT's Just Too Late' by Calvin

¶ … Blame? It's Just Too Late' by Calvin Trillin is the story of FaNee Cooper, a rebellious child who dies in a tragic car accident. While there are several characters that contribute to her death, namely her mother and Charlie Stevens, FaNee is the only one who can truly be held responsible for her death. At first glance it appears that Charlie Stevens is responsible for FaNee's death.

This is based on the fact that he was driving the vehicle that crashed, killing FaNee, and is reaffirmed by the fact that the jury found him responsible. Yet there are several reasons why this simplistic blame is not accurate. The first reason is that Charlie was not acting like himself that night, he was driven to drive chaotically by FaNee's actions. FaNee led Charlie to believe that they were being chased by her father who had a gun and would kill them.

Charlie then, was just reacting to what FaNee told him and in his state of panic, the accident happened. Charlie's panic was a direct result of FaNee's actions. This leads to the second reason why Charlie is not responsible. FaNee purposely led Charlie to believe they were in danger and knowingly and purposely put herself in a situation where she was in danger. FaNee was responsible for the drinking, the driving and for causing Charlie to panic.

This night was really a culmination of a decision FaNee had already made, to give up on her life. This decision dates back much further than the fateful night, and begins when FaNee became depressed and isolated herself from her family and her life.

It begins with the minor behavior of isolating herself from her family and spending most of her time alone in her room and continues to her joining the 'Freaks.' Most significant is her decision that if she couldn't be the best, she might as well be the worst. Her final act of giving up is shown in the poem she wrote and her deciding that 'it's just too late.' In this we see that FaNee has decided to die, she has given up on herself.

And her actions on the night of her death, is her way of carrying out that decision to die. Looked at in this way, Charlie is a victim of FaNee's own choice, with Charlie the means by which she causes her own death. Finally, we must look at the basic cause of this rebellion, which leads us to FaNee's mother. FaNee was originally the 'perfect child,' adored by her mother. However, this adoring gave way to disappointment as FaNee grew older.

While her mother should have reached out to FaNee and helped her, instead she focused her attention on her younger children. This act was one of effectively abandoning and rejecting FaNee. This is the circumstance that led to FaNee's rebellion and ultimately her death. FaNee's mothers actions are factors that led to FaNee's demise and FaNee's mother is at fault for her actions. Yet in the end, it is FaNee who chose her own path. She chose to rebel, to reject her family further and to give up on herself.

While her mother is at fault, FaNee herself chose how to deal with her family situation. For every life and every family, there are problems to be tackled, including family issues similar to FaNee's. These issues are a part of life that every individual must deal with.