The Benefits of Being an Octopus

Zoey Albro is sitting on the couch on a Sunday, eating a pudding cup that she saved from her Friday school lunch. Although this scene shows that Zoey is frugal and conscientious, she confesses that she’s not doing her homework (a debate packet), as she lacks materials like glitter and puffy paint and is preoccupied with watching her young half-siblings, Bryce and Aurora, who ruin the rare calm.

Zoey describes her family and living situation: Lenny, who owns the trailer they live in, is the boyfriend of her mother, Kara, and the father of Zoey’s youngest half-sibling, Hector. Bryce and Aurora’s father, Nate, is no longer part of the family. Zoey doesn’t know her own father, who left when she was a baby. The situation doesn’t seem to bother her. She fondly recounts her hunting trips with Nate and watching football with Lenny.

While Kara is cooking dinner, the power goes out, and Lenny acts as if it’s Kara’s fault. Kara apologizes, and Zoey wonders why her mother can’t do anything right.

Zoey’s mother is more concerned with cleaning the burnt hotdog bits off “Lenny’s pan” than in discovering why the power went out. This moment reveals Lenny’s control over the household.