Twisted

Addiction takes multiple forms in the novel. Bill is addicted to work. Linda is addicted to alcohol. Tyler is addicted to video games. In each case, the addiction facilitates avoidance of home and family, and is away to manage repressed emotions. 

In each case, there is a turning point in the novel where the character puts aside his or her addiction of choice. For Bill, his break from work is forced on him when he is fired. However, the final chapter shows him resting and engaging with his family on the weekend.

For Linda, this turning point comes when she decides she has had enough of the police harassing Tyler. Against Bill’s wishes, she gives the officers her lawyer’s business card and tells them to communicate through her lawyer from now on. When Bill asks her if she wants a drink, meaning a gin and tonic, she says no.

For Tyler, he never gives up his gaming, but in the beginning of the novel he spends a minimal amount of time on homework and hours on Tophet. By the end of the novel, he sets aside all distractions to complete his homework, even looking things up when he’s confused in order to make sure his work is correct.

Tyler’s baseball bat and his father’s train set are symbols of Tyler’s relationship with his father. Both represent happy memories that have turned sour over time. The baseball bat reminds Tyler of his Little League games, where he used to have fun until his grandfather came to a game. His grandfather criticized his playing, which, in turn, made Bill begin to criticize Tyler. Now, the bat is a destructive force, an extension of Tyler’s pent-up rage.

The train set is a years-long project that Bill completed for the family. Tyler again recalls memories of working on the models with his father, until the piece became an obsession that no one but Bill was allowed to touch. The train set serves as a taunting reminder of what their family used to be. Tyler ultimately destroys the train set with the baseball bat.