The Lord (Chapter 8-9)

When Peekay is reunited with his mother, he discovers that she has become a born-again Christian. To Peekay, his mom is not only reborn, but a completely different person. She is now totally devoted to the Lord. Peekay has trouble with the concept of God, and initially thinks he is a just a person. His mother pressures Peekay to open his heart to God, but he doesn’t because he doesn’t fully understand what God is. This creates conflict between Peekay and his mother which further separates them. The separation had started when Peekay was nursed by his Zulu nanny instead of his mother. Peekay bonded to his nanny more than his mother because the Zulu nanny both provided him with food and was in physical contact with his nanny more. When Peekay calls the Lord a shithead for advising his mother to send his nanny away, he shows he cares more about being with his nanny then listening to and adopting his mother’s beliefs. This is the main reason his mother is upset. His mother doesn’t want to admit that she let another woman become Peekay’s mother figure, so she bases her punishment because he insulted the Lord, not her.

Peekay met Doc when he took a picture of him sitting on a rock. They quickly became friends, and later Doc convinced Peekay’s mother to allow him to teach Peekay piano. He taught Peekay about piano and cacti, but he also taught him to think and listen to himself. This directly conflicted with his mother’s pleas to blindly accept the Lord. The emotional separation between him and his mother, and the new mentoring by Doc pushes Peekay away from the Lord.