In the book there are many references to the family. Basically all the characters have a special bond that connects them and makes them family. Although they believe that they do not have this connection.
Jonathan is a character that acts as a glue to hold both of the families together. Jonathan is a very dynamic character who just does not know what he wants in life. Jonathan knows that he is looking for love, but he wants to find that one person that he connect to. Although he has found two people that he has fallen into love with, he just doesn’t think thats what he wants. That is the reason for him moving out and trying to find another to love. Jonathan realized that he wasn’t in love with Erich, hence not wanting him to meet the Hendersons. He used Erich basically just for the sex.
Jonathan did not really have a connection to his parents. Alice and Jonathan had not really seen eye to eye since she walked in on him and Bobby in the car. This put a strain on their “friendship” relationship. Even when Jonathan went to Arizona to see his parents, he went to the movies with his father as their special outing. Alice took this time to take car of the garden. Ned trying to give Jonathan a lawn mower was an idea that Ned maybe a little ashamed and wants a different life for Jonathan. Ned wants Jonathan to settle down in a suburban area that has a cemetery nearby and a lawn that Jonathan can cut the grass in. Ned wants Jonathan to have his dream of the American family, which doesn’t seem to exist at this point in Jonathan’s life.
Jonathan realizes that he doesn’t fit into the lifestyle of the Hendersons. He realized that Clare and Bobby were in a relationship with one another and felt like the third wheel and didn’t have a connection. I think that the story end when the three of them get back together and live life in the commune of a house that would meet all of their needs and wants, and raise a child.
One Comment
I agree that Jonathan is the glue holding this family together. he is the common one between the three of them. I think he is just a very sad confused individual just searching for happiness in life, but once it is here its like he cant even deal with it or recognize it.