Thomas N. Segura Character Analysis

Overview

Thomas N. Segura is the father of comedian Tom Segura and a retired Marine Corps captain who appears in I'd Like to Play Alone, Please as a central, larger‑than‑life figure. Though the memoir is narrated by Tom, his father’s personality – blunt, eccentric, and unapologetically crude – dominates many of the early anecdotes. From his obsession with classifying bowel movements to his habit of walking away mid‑conversation, the elder Segura is portrayed as a “savage” (his son’s affectionate term) whose behavior simultaneously frustrates and fascinates. He died of cancer shortly after the manuscript was completed, a fact that gives the otherwise comic recollections a poignant weight. The book reveals him through a series of discrete episodes: childhood memories, adulthood phone calls, and the final wisdom he imparts just before his death. The characterization is built entirely from Tom’s first‑person testimony, so readers see the father through a loving but critical lens.

Plot Role

Thomas N. Segura’s role in the memoir is twofold: he serves as a primary source of humor and as a catalyst for the author’s own worldview. In the chapter “My Father, the Savage,” his habits are introduced in detail – the unsolicited calls about defecation, the graphic Vietnam war stories dropped into polite conversation, and the sudden disengagement when he becomes bored. These anecdotes often have no plot consequences; they exist to illustrate the man’s unvarnished nature. However, the father’s presence also shapes the memoir’s emotional arc. His death at the end (though not dramatized; it is reported after the fact) provides resolution and a thematic punchline: “The world goes on.” The father’s habits also echo in Tom’s own parenting (as when his young son says “I’d like to play alone, please”), and in his comedic sensibility – a blend of self‑deprecation, crude honesty, and irreverence that the author explicitly traces to his upbringing.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Motivations – The father’s actions repeatedly suggest a fierce need for autonomy and a low tolerance for social boredom. He walks away from conversations because, as he says, “I get bored and I don’t waste my time once I feel that way.” He categorizes his own bowel movements because, in his view, bodily functions are “criminally underappreciated” – implying a desire to reclaim taboo subjects as normal. His graphic war‑storytelling, the text suggests, may be driven by a need to process trauma (an inference, not an explicit claim), but the book deliberately avoids psychological analysis. Instead, it shows a man who is completely comfortable with his own oddities.

Traits – The father is:

Blunt to the point of rudeness – He hangs up mid‑call without explanation, shares grotesque surgical details (“Her pussy,” in chapter 3), and dismisses his own son’s concerns.
Fixated on digestion – He has named his bowel movements (“Sloppy Joes,” “Cherry Bombs,” “Number Sevens”) and can identify his own fart aromas to predict digestion.
Proud of his Marine past – He recounts combat stories without warning, even at family dinners, but also shows a tender side (“He always said ‘I love you’ and always hugged and kissed me”).
Emotionally direct in his own way – He offers simple, grounded wisdom (“The world goes on”) rather than sentimental comfort.

Traits shown through actions – The evidence is rich: the phone call that opens chapter 2 (“I can’t talk right now… I’ll call you back”) demonstrates his social obliviousness; his response to Tom’s need for medical shadowing (“Her pussy”) shows his disregard for propriety; his late‑life cancer battle, mentioned only in passing, reveals resilience without drama.

Chronological Arc

The father’s presence in the memoir is not chronological in a strict sense; anecdotes jump across decades. The arc can be summarized as:

Childhood glimpses – Tom recalls his father’s habits from early years, such as the ritual of farting and smelling his hand in bed, and the dynamic where Tom would point out the grossness to upset his mother.
Adolescence and young adulthood – The Mayo Clinic shadowing incident (chapter 3) shows the father’s uncensored humor. The “spring break” roommate story (chapter 2) illustrates how his behavior confuses outsiders.
Adulthood of the author – Regular phone calls still involve bathroom talk. The father’s idiosyncrasies remain unchanged. Tom notes he has “gotten much better” about walking away, but this is false.
Death and aftermath – The manuscript reveals that the father died of cancer “just weeks after this manuscript was handed in.” His last recorded piece of advice to Tom: “The world goes on.” This ending reframes the earlier crude stories as precious, finite memories.

The arc is not one of transformation for the father; he stays consistent. The change is in Tom’s perspective – from annoyance to acceptance to grief.

Relationships

With Tom – The relationship is built on a mix of frustration and deep affection. Tom often rolls his eyes at his father’s grossness but also admits taking pleasure in it (“I loved upsetting her as a child”). He replicates his father’s bluntness in his own comedy. The father’s approval matters: he proudly calls Tom “buddy.” The final line of the chapter suggests a love that transcends the strange surface.

With Tom’s mother – The mother, a Peruvian immigrant with refined manners, is horrified by her husband’s behavior. Tom enjoys pointing out the grossness to provoke her reaction. The marriage appears contradictory: a “barbarian” and a virginal Catholic. Yet the father shields her from the worst war stories, indicating a protective dimension. Their union is held together by faith and, possibly, mutual acceptance.

With strangers – The father treats strangers the same as family. A former neighbor at a wedding receives the same walking‑away treatment. The roommate Casey thinks he offended the father when in fact the father was simply done talking. This shows an absolute lack of social filtering, which Tom notes as both maddening and, over time, almost admirable.

Key Decisions and Consequences

One key decision the father makes repeatedly is to end conversations when bored, without explanation. The consequence is a reputation for rudeness and confusion among those who don’t know him. For Tom, it instills a need to call him out (ineffectively) and later to accept it as part of who he is.

Another decision is to share war stories indiscriminately. The consequence is that Tom and others hear traumatic details in inappropriate settings, but also that the father processes his experiences openly. Tom interprets this as healthy: “I’m glad he feels comfortable enough to continue telling these stories.”

The most consequential decision is implicit: to raise Tom in an environment where nothing is off‑limits, from bathroom talk to death. This directly shapes Tom’s comedic voice and his parenting style (as seen when his son tells him to go away, and Tom smiles). The father’s final decision to offer that simple wisdom – “The world goes on” – leaves Tom (and the reader) with a quiet lesson in resilience.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Thomas N. Segura is a walking embodiment of several themes from the book:

Self‑deprecating humor – The father’s lack of pretension and his willingness to be ridiculous provide the raw material for Tom’s comedy.
Family dynamics – The contrast between the father’s crudeness and the mother’s decorum creates a central tension in Tom’s upbringing.
Identity and perception – The father is perceived as a savage by outsiders but as a loving dad by his son; this gap between public and private identity is a recurring theme.
Parenting and solitude – The father’s need for alone time (walking away, ending calls) mirrors what Tom later values, and is even passed to the next generation when Tom’s son says “I’d like to play alone, please” (chapter 23).

As a symbol, the father represents the unvarnished, uncompromising life – a life that rejects social niceties in favor of honesty, however grotesque. His death and final words also symbolize the inevitability of loss and the need to carry on.

5 Book‑Specific Questions and Answers

Why does the elder Thomas N. Segura walk away from conversations without warning?
Answer: The book states directly: “I get bored and I don’t waste my time once I feel that way.” This blunt explanation is his own. It suggests a need for autonomy and low tolerance for social obligations.
What are some of his nicknames for his bowel movements, and what do they mean?
Answer: He calls them “Sloppy Joes” (fall out easily), “Cherry Bombs” (cause splatter on cheeks), and “Number Sevens.” The book does not define every term fully, but these are the most explicitly described.
How does his war‑story sharing affect his relationship with his wife?
Answer: He tries to shield his wife from the graphic combat tales, implying a protective instinct. However, Tom deliberately shares those stories with her to upset her, creating a playful but antagonistic dynamic.
What is the father’s final piece of wisdom to Tom before his death?
Answer: “The world goes on.” This is the only direct quote provided from the end of his life, and it summarizes his stoic outlook.
Does the father ever change his behavior over the course of the memoir?
Answer: No. Tom notes that the father claims to have “gotten much better” about walking away, but Tom observes he hasn’t changed at all. The father remains consistent in his eccentricities from early childhood until his death.