The Best Rough Draft Ever Written

How often does one encounter the expression "better safe than sorry" in a lifetime? People are constantly being urged to take precautions in countless situations. Ron Carlson's "Milk" is about an individual who refuses to take a precaution that the other people in his life insist is important. Taking a precaution requires one to admit the possibility that something unwanted or terrible could happen and the narrator of this story is the first to be affected by this fact. In this case the narrator is being pressured to allow his toddler sons to be fingerprinted. His refusal to have his twins fingerprints taken is at the core of the conflict of the short story. At first glance, the conflict of "Milk" seems to be between the narrator and his wife and his mother, but it becomes evident that the more important conflict occurs within the narrator. The narrator is resisting a fear that is inevitable for parents: What if something happens to my children? The importance of this internal conflict is shaped and supported by the reactions of other characters to the narrator's actions, the symbolism of objects that affect the narrator, and the narrator's epiphany in the conclusion of the story.
The reactions of other characters to the narrator are some of the first indications that an internal conflict is dominating the plot of the story. When the narrator refuses via phone call to allow his wife and mother to have his children fingerprinted, he claims says that he is "not caving into this raging paranoia. It's a better world than people think" (66). His wife Ann is the first to see through her husband. She says "I'm going to tell your mother that you're terrified and unable at this time to do the right thing" (66). The narrator doesn't want to admit that the reason he doesn't allow fingerprints is because he is afraid. The fear and paranoia that are motivating people to fingerprint their children is the very thing that the narrator criticizes and uses as his own excuse not to follow in their footsteps. It is ironic that he is experiencing this fear as well, and on an even higher level than most. Ann's reaction is the first clue that her husband is struggling with extreme fears of his own. When the narrator ends the phone call with his wife, his coworker Phyllis has a similar reaction to Ann. She replies to his claim that the world is a safer place than people think with a sarcastic "and you're not scared in the least, are you?" (66). These initial reactions to the narrator show that everyone around him knows that he is afraid for the safety of his children but is unwilling to admit it. Denying this fear is a defense mechanism for the narrator which further complicates his internal conflict. Until he is able to admit that he is afraid he is unable to take any steps toward a resolution.
The relationship between the narrator and Ann also contributes to the internal conflict. Ann is frustrated with her husband but is playful in her confrontations with him. The couple has always been opposed to rules in their home, but now the narrator feels a strong need for them. Because of this change in character which also adds to the internal conflict, Ann makes jokes about her husband becoming this way. When he returns home from work she says to her children "Well, boys, it's Daddy, the Rulemaker" She also calls him the "lawgiver" and imitates him (67). It is especially playful when she presses her nose to him and kisses him in the middle of her impression. This scene shows that Ann is frustrated, but is also aware of the fact that her husband's rule is in response to an intense love and concern for the well being of their children. There is a sense of understanding in the middle of the disagreement. Ann understands where the narrator is coming from, and the narrator knows that fingerprints could help to ensure the safety of his sons. Regardless of this understanding, the narrator can't bring himself to believe in the reality of his children being in any kind of danger. This danger is presented to him regularly by symbols.
Symbolism is a powerful fuel to the narrator's fears. The most influential symbols in "Milk" are the milk cartons. Each carton of the brand of milk that the narrator's household uses has the profile of a missing child on the back. These children are haunting for the narrator, and the milk cartons become a literary symbol of his worst fear. The profiles of the missing children show up in places that he would never expect them to be. He talks about their invasion into his life. He says "The photographs themselves assumed a lurid, tabloid quality, and every time I opened the fridge they scared me" (69). The narrator is desperately trying to escape the fear that something could happen to his kids but he has constant reminders surrounding him. He even finds missing children on the back of a weekly mailer and again on a comic book.
The narrator comes to terms with his internal conflict and admits his fears at the end of the story. When he returns home to find that his sons fingerprints were taken against his wishes he takes the boys out for a ride in the car. His thoughts during this scene are of the loss of safety and security in the world. The fact that the twins have already been fingerprinted forces the narrator to address his inner thoughts. There is no fighting his fears anymore once the precaution has been taken. He realizes how afraid he has become since having his children. He says "we have always felt safe until the boys arrived, and now I am afraid of everything" (75). Admitting that he is paranoid allows the sense of resolution to take over the conclusion of the story. Until this point it has been frustrating for the reader that he couldn't just admit that he was afraid. Although the conflict isn't fully resolved because the fear for his children will always be there, at least we are given a sense of understanding within the narrator.