Hatred of the region: Why Early John was an ogre....

We're in the midst of being reminded what a smug, smarmy, selfish, chauvinistic, callous buffoon John started out as. It always seemed as if he thought it was beneath him to show Elly the least bit of sympathy for her troubles which, unfortunately, led to her constant, free-floating rage that was passed doen to her children. Ultimately, the chaos that we saw was all his fault because he he was too selfish and arrogant to bend down and be there for Elly when she needed him. The question this raises is why Lynn felt such an overweening need to depict the man as a monster and bully. The answer is simple: Rod loved Lynn Lake and the open country far too much for her liking. She, as we've all seen and heard, hated it because it didn't have the conveniences she thought of as her divine right to enjoy. Simple as paper, she was punishing the real man for not living in a big city that made him uneasy by turning his analog into a creep. When they moved to the larger city of North Bay, John became less of a vicious fool. If she'd managed to bully him into moving to Toronto, Train Boy would be so clean, we could eat off of him.