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Re: Thomas



> One could argue that Tommy did not become deaf dumb and blind all at once
> but as a result of many events.

Joe:

If we were talking about real life, you'd be right, but the way (at least)
I read it is the actual event is a direct result of his parents shouting:
"You didn't hear it, you didn't see it, you won't say nothing to no one,
ever in your life..." In a story, especially as short as it would need to
be to fit into 80 minutes, events tend to be simplified (or at least as
simplistic as possible) in order to be understood and move the story along.
Watching the movie tends to strengthen this impression for me. Tommy saw
his Dad leaving his room (therefore he could see), and follows. After they
kill the father, his mother and her lover scream at Tommy, and it triggers
his retreat from the world. It seems clear, however that is IMHO.
If the story is ever made into a novel, or an extended computer-generated
DVD "movie" perhaps, we may find out that Townshend intended several events
to cause the retreat and this was only the trigger...the final straw. But
until then, we must work with what we have.