Remembering Stevie

Reading The Secret Agent I was immediately moved by Stevie's character. His disabilities have left himto the  care of his older sister, Winnie. It's not that she treats him poorly or neglects him but he isn't given the respect he deserves. My heart reaches out to Stevie. As the story progresses and the readers see into the dull life of Stevie I felt so bad for his character. Maybe it's just because I'm a girl and have emotions coming out of my ears, but reading and following the character of Stevie was very sad. His purpose in the story is debateable. Is he that important? Or does he serve as a symbol or stock character who serves as contrast to the evil in the story? He could be both but for this post I want to talk about his innocence and how it applies to the story and overall theme of the novel. He is this innocent, child-like character who has to be told to do everything but when to go to the bathroom. Stevie doesn't know what the outside world is and I have to think his emerging place in the outside world could only lead to disaster. I liked Stevie, as a a character he represented the innocence the other characters lacked. The irony though that the child-like character set off the bomb is almost too much. Perhaps my sympathy is clouding how I view Stevie but it was a loss and tragic event that he died. Whether it was out of irony, parallesim or anoth reason, Stevie's character was really important.