About this perfect kid who had a younger brother. A not-so-perfect kid. And all the time they were growing up, this not-so-perfect kid tried to model himself after his brother, the perfect kid- (Page 224).
By referring to Jacob as "the perfect child" and Conrad as "the not-so-perfect child" he displays Conrad's feelings towards his older brother. People are constantly remembering great times they had with Buck, and how he always made people laugh. In one passage his father recalls Buck saying, " Jordan, his light-hearted son, the one who never worried, who believed they would all live forever" (Page 34). Buck is also continually remembered and phrased for his championship swimming. In one instance Conrad overhears a conversation his friends are having about Buck and one boy comments, " I don't know how you can listen to the lecture one more time about Buck Jarrett, the all-time great swimmer of the world" (Page 178). Both Kate and Conrad think that their brothers are perfect.
During Kate's life, in Crow Lake, Matt makes a decision that changes Kate's entire life. At age eighteen, Matt gets a girl, Marie Pye, pregnant. As a result he is forced to resign his scholarship to the university and consequently his education and the opportunities that came with it. Matt fails to achieve the family dream of receiving the highest education possible. Kate, however, does not fail. She receives a scholarship, attends the university, and acquires a position as a professor. However, because Kate cannot accept the failure of her brother who she so unquestionably adores, she cannot be happy with her own success. In one passage Kate says, while lecturing a class, .
If things had turned out differently, it would have been Matt standing in front of them [the class] instead of me. If that had been the case, not one of them would have been yawning. I am not exaggerating this. I am not glorifying him.
To compare, in Poland there are 360 species, and in Masovia 300. ... The Hooded Crow 4. ... The Hooded Crow The Hooded Crow belongs to species called crow-like. ... It lives in stagnant or slow-flowing water especially in places with well developed coastal flora - quiet lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes. ... The Black-headed Gulls usually nest on islets on lakes and rivers. ...