Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the Careys’ former home and the point of comparison for the family’s difficult life after moving east. For Scott Carey, it is not merely a place left behind: he recalls having been happy there, and resists the claim that returning is a simple remedy for the crisis confronting them.

Former Home and the Move East

During an argument with his wife, Scott Carey challenges the suggestion that the family’s departure from California was simply his doing. He recalls that he had been happy there and objects to the idea that he brought them east because he insisted on going into business with Marty. His unfinished protest gives way to an apology, but not to a change of position: he says he will not go back, and insists that returning would be pointless. Los Angeles therefore stands in the argument as a remembered home whose past happiness cannot, in Scott’s view, undo the present circumstances.

Material Consequences of Leaving

The family’s long residence in Los Angeles had left them unprepared for an Eastern winter. After the move, their expenses included a complete winter wardrobe, fuel oil, additional medical bills, the earlier examination bill, and five hundred owed to Marty. Although the Medical Centre had provided the tests without charge, these other costs had accumulated through a hard winter. Los Angeles is thus associated not only with Scott’s recollection of contentment but also with the practical contrast between the climate and resources the family had known there and the demands of their new surroundings.