The story of Buried Child happens to be a somewhat unique type of story, it's a story that we can but don't read every day . The beginning of the story sets the tone for the entire story. Dodge, the supposed man of the house, is lying on the couch with what happens to be a half-empty bottle of liquor below him, so we could most likely assume he's drunk. . Dodge discusses ancient past events with his wife Haile, events such as one of their sons, Ansel, a model son, being murdered years before, allegedly by his psychotic, Catholic wife on their night of wedding. The couple argue until finally Haile leaves the house to go to church. The next character introduced is Dodge and Haile's other son named Tilden. Tilden happens to be a very strange character, their eldest son who happens to be in his forties, a lost son who has no purpose, no direction in his life. Tilden is supposed to take care of his father when he comes into the house with his hands full of corn and tells everyone.