The Twilight Zone "Time Enough At Last"
In the Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough At Last”, Henry Bemis seems to be a fully functioning and capable adult, in spite of his unhealthily voracious appetite for reading. Henry holds down a steady job as a bank clerk, and generally seems to be a functioning member of society. The premise of the episode, however, eviscerates the city in which he lives and works with an “H-Bomb”, and we are forced to examine Henry as an individual living outside the confines of society. When we get a closer look at the book-loving man, we see that he’s not really a man at all. The character of Henry Bemis in “Time Enough At Last” more closely resembles a child than an adult, and the episode itself is a commentary on childhood, the oppressive nature of adults towards children, and the inevitable end of childhood.
Bemis’s physical characteristics and mannerisms can easily be compared to that of a child. He is physically shorter and smaller than nearly everyone in the episode, including his wife. He wears comically oversized glasses to further augment the appearance of him being weak and feeble. Also of note, no one else in the episode sports eyewear, an indication of Henry’s difference and separation from the “normal” people (i.e. the adults) around him. Bemis is seen giggling numerous times throughout narrative and his demeanor and exuberance for reading are reminiscent of a child’s joy and zeal when performing one of their favorite pastimes. On his way to the pivotal lunch break, Bemis carries with him a brown-paper sack lunch, something far more commonplace in a third grade cafeteria than in the professional atmosphere of a bank. The nature of his marriage is also telling, if you can even call it a marriage. Henry’s wife constantly talks down to him, and generally treats him as an inferior. In a way, their relationship more closely resembles that of mother and a mischievous son than it does of a husband and a wife. To control Henry, Mrs. Bemis resorts to juvenile and motherly tactics, evident in her hiding his periodicals and forcibly taking his books from him (again, establishing her physical dominance and perpetuating the characterization of Henry as being helpless and controlled by others). Even after the explosion and Henry’s escape from the oppression of society, he is shown stumbling aimlessly around the wreckage like a lost puppy, clueless without the guiding presence of the “adults”.
If Henry is a child, then the bank symbolizes the larger adult world around him. In the bank, Henry is scoffed at by the comparatively normal (adult) citizens when he tries to perform his youthful hobby. Henry’s boss makes it clearly known that Bemis doesn’t fit in with the rest of the adults at the bank while reprimanding him, approximately stating that Bemis has “no value as a cog in the societal machine” because of his fascination with reading.
The situation that the H-Bomb explosion sets up essentially institutes an experiment in which child-Henry is made to survive in a world without adult constraints. It starts out great; the discovery of the unlimited food in the grocery store gives him security for his most basic needs, similar to how parents in a family would. The fulfillment of Henry’s carnal needs completely absolves him of any responsibility whatsoever, and he can now fully enjoy the leisure time that he so craves. Unfortunately, Henry breaks his glasses, and now requires the support of the “adult” world that provided him with supplementary goods. In short, the breaking of the glasses forces Henry to “grow up” and join the rest of the adult world. He now has needs that nature alone can’t provide for, his youthful romp is over. The clock at Henry’s feet reinforces this point, that no one can escape time, and that the breaking of the glasses that is Henry’s migration to adulthood was always inevitable and inescapable. The clock was simply ticking away towards its end goal, and now time has run out. Tonally, the episode both celebrates and recognizes the inevitable ceasing of Henry’s position; the ending makes it clear that the celebration of youth can only last so long. The scenes with the bank and the wife pity the child Henry, who only seeks to enjoy the limitless pleasures of life, but is suppressed by the constraints of the adults around him. Coming full circle, the episode ends with the brutal and unforgiving realization that no matter who you are and how much you want it to continue, childhood will always come to an end.
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