This image strikes me as the core of the problems of society in this book (and by extension today's society). The tree sheltered Eddie as a child and the discovery that it was actually rotten at the core and was going to fail sooner or later is a metaphor for our society. People are consumed with appearance, not substance. Pop doesnt order a new typewriter because no matter how 'new' it may be, inside it is trash.
Moral rot, like the tree's core, is a bit harder to pinpoint...When did the tree begin to rot? At what point could it have been saved? When did our country begin to rot? At what point can we be saved?
Your statement jogged something in my memory. A few years ago, FReeper RobRoy, who is a member of our Puget Sound FReeper Chapter, once described the vista of downtown Seattle as seen from his office as a veneer of sparkle and glitter with nothing but corruption underneath. I'm paraphrasing, but I think I've captured the sentiment. That ties into your interpretation of the tree and also the unrepaired spire.
Excellent analysis of the Rotten Tree. Excellent. I saw it the same way, but hadn’t considered the fact that it had been rotting all that time and he hadn’t even known it, like a man with a terminal cancer growing who has not even begun to show symptoms.
It goes to the heart of your comment: At what point is the cancer/rot terminal for the host?
I’m just getting started here - lost my copy of the book and had to go and buy another...so I’ll be catching up. Any pace is fine for me. I’ll just go with the flow. :)