The Character of Pop Bottle Pete in The River Warren

The Character of Pop Bottle Pete in The River Warren

In the novel, The River Warren, Pop Bottle Pete is a character whom not all readers have an easy time understanding or relating to. The most obvious reason for this is that he is a grown man with a mental disability. The reader understands this through the words that he uses, the way he uses them, and also through his relationships, which are affected by his disability. Having a clearer knowledge of this disability, by looking at his language and social skills, the reader will gain a better understanding of these relationships. Out of respect for the character I will refer to him as Peter. To get a general range of Peter's skills, the Battelle Developmental Inventory will be used as a resource. The Battelle is an assessment used for children birth to six years of age but can be used on an older person who is functioning around this level. Given Peter's description of himself, his activities, and his feelings we can estimate a general developmental level (it is not possible to obtain a standardized score or an actual age level of development). According to the Battelle, Peter's skills appear to range about the five to six year age level in the areas of Adult Interaction, Expression of Feelings/Affect, Self-Concept and Social Role.

Some of the items that we can look at in the Adult Interaction are tasks such as "separating easily from the parent," a skill that is developed around 36-47 months. Peter seems to show no difficulty leaving his mother's presence and showing some independence. He seems very comfortable going out, away from his mother, to collect bottles and cans. Also, he did not show any difficulty when he was a Dr. Piersoll's office and his mother had to leave the room. If anything his mother seemed more disturbed than Peter. But he did have a task in the area of Adult Interaction that he would not have passed and that is "asking for adult help when needed," a skill that is developed around 72-83 months. If he had had this skill, he would have gone to his mother when he contracted frostbite on several of his toes and his penis, and he would have had her help him in the most appropriate way.