People Watching

The characters of People Watching are products of their individual childhood experiences, and through their portrayals, the novel explores how various types of trauma manifest in both behavior and attitude. Milo, Nadia, and Nik were all shaped by their parents’ physical and emotional abuse, while Prue’s experience offers a more nuanced example of how trauma can manifest in childhood. Together, the experiences of these two very different families illustrate both how trauma can manifest and how people’s experiences with trauma can result in very different behaviors, even within the same household.

Milo and his siblings represent how similar traumatic experiences shape people in different ways. As a result of his parents’ emotional and physical abuse, Milo, the middle child, detached himself from everyone but his siblings and only ever engaged in casual relationships. Whenever he was confronted with discussing his past, he refused to do so because “avoiding the topic only makes it all the more real. All the more deadly. But talking about it could feel worse” (195). Similarly, Nadia, the youngest, also avoided talking about her childhood. She was left alone with their parents after Nik and Milo left home, and Nadia grew hardened and closed off, violently pushing people away.