disillusionment

That was what he said, for me to not follow him. But I did follow him, all the years. (87)

The narrator, Seth, is recounting this story thirty-five years after the fact. He is now forty-four and has experienced loss and death. It seems to me that Warren's "Blackberry Winter" is a story of disillusionment. The man that comes to the farm opens Seth's eyes to the evils in the world. From then on he experiences the deaths of the chickens, the death of the cow, the dirtiness outside Dellie's house, etc. Since the man comes to work, Seth is exposed to reality. His awakening or disillusionment towards reality or away from ideality follows him throughout his life. He remembers "still [being] a boy, but a big boy" (86) when his father died. The man opened Seth's eyes to the real world and "Blackberry Winter" is a memory of Seth's naivete.

Was the man using scare tactics to help Seth maintain his innocence for a little while longer? If the man symbolizes disillusionment and the bad things in Seth's world is he innately good for telling Seth to not follow him?