Lee is the guider throughout the whole novel. He gives guidance
and advice to the Trasks and helps lead them down the road of righteousness. He
realizes that there is a difference between good and bad people and can easily
point them out. He presents the major theme of timshel. He shows that a person
can be a little bit of both, and have a balance. He cares for the Trask twins
and takes them as their own and cleans the house. He also helps Adam to get
back onto his feet and to recover from the loss of Cathy. Lee is a stabilizing
force in the household. He is the one consistent person who does not seem to
change and stays true to himself. Lee is a selfless character who even puts his
dreams on hold to open a bookstore and then cancels them to help mentor the
Trasks, especially the twins. He is the connector between good and evil and
sees that they can live together. Lee is a philosopher and has
acknowledged that there is both in everyone. He knows that there are extremes
and sees them in Cathy, as evil, and Aron, as good. The Trask family are most important to Lee. He
offers Cal a way to redeem himself and believe that he can be good and shows
him that he has a choice. “Don’t you see? . . . the
Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’—that
gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the
way is open.”(pg. 303). By Lee saying this he shows to everyone that they all have
their own individual choices. They can be the extremes of good and evil or be
in the middle and lean towards one a little more than the other. He saves Cal
from condemning himself to a life full of sin. He also allows Adam to see his
mistakes he has made as a parent and given him a chance to correct them.
