Most novels have a good main character and even the bad ones have qualities that make them likable. This, however, is not the case with Larry Brown’s novel Father And Son. From the day Glen gets out of prison to the day he dies, his actions are despicable. Bobby on the other hand is a great contrast to this detestable character. Glen and Bobby are a great example of a major theme of this novel, good vs. evil. Other examples are Mary and Emma, and old and new Virgil. Emma raised Glen and his brothers along with Virgil while Mary had to raise Bobby alone. Emma was bitter about Mary and Bobby and possibly passed it on to Glen by saying things like, “That whore of his, that’s where he goes” (165). Not to mention the fact that this was said while …show more content…
The reader does not witness Virgil’s bad side but it is referenced. We know that Virgil was a drunk and left guns lying around the house which ultimately led to the death of Theron. He was a careless dad to his three kids and this is probably what made him change years later. In the book’s present we see how he cares for David and does all the things he should have done as a father. At the end of the book David is described as a “precious bundle” and it says, “[Virgil] held David close to him as if to protect him from any harm” (347). Maybe Virgil held David as the only connection left to his dead son or maybe because he was trying to protect him from being hurt by the world they live in. Virgil tried so hard to change and everybody could see he had changed except for Glen. Glen still remembered the man who was around when he was a kid, he still remembered the things his mother had said about his dad and him cheating on his mother even though her accusations were false. When Emma was still alive, Virgil did leave her alone a lot to go drink and do other things but, when she died he kept her clothes for a while. He used his own money to pay for the funeral and even though he had yet to put a headstone on her grave it wasn 't because he had spent the money on whiskey he simply hadn 't gotten around to it. Virgil fathered both Glen and Bobby and it seems as though Glen got Virgil’s bad while Bobby inherited his …show more content…
It is hard to imagine all the things he did in the five days he was out of prison. On his first day back, he saw Erline Price and saw how grown up she’d become. Later on they drink together and they go back to his place. The book says, “He did it slow long and hard and even when he saw that she was bleeding he kept on” (115). It takes a special kind of evil to do what he did. He was careful to not hurt her in a way that could be seen by other which is almost more damaging because it means that no one will no, nobody will ask where she got hurt, she has no reason to tell people because they will not ask and she will not tell unless they do. His actions where thought out and methodical, it didn 't happen in the heat of the moment. The only time he shows any decency is when he lets the fish go because it was pretty and it had never done anything to him. In five days he did hundreds of things and out of all of those this was the only good thing he did. Bobby on the other hand did no wrong in this book. He even let Byers have a moment with his dad. When he did become sheriff he even tried to give Glen as many chances as he could but it was useless. Bobby was everything Glen couldn 't be. It might be due to who they were both raised by but a person’s personality can only be affected a limited amount by environment. Bobby is the one who fixes what Glen ruins.
The relationship between a father and son stems from an unspoken competition in many countries. Whether it is a physical or mental rivalry the superior role slowly transcends on to the son as he grows into a man. In Brad Manning’s short story “Arm Wrestling With My Father,” and Itabari Njeri’s “When Morpheus Held Him,” both contain admiring sons and impassive fathers. Despite both stories similarities in unspoken emotions they differ in the aspect of their physical relationships. This unrequited bond between a father and son in these stories portray various types of love.
When the man and boy meet people on the road, the boy has sympathy for them, but his father is more concerned with keeping them both alive. The boy is able to get his father to show kindness to the strangers (McCarthy), however reluctantly the kindness is given. The boy’s main concern is to be a good guy. Being the good guy is one of the major reasons the boy has for continuing down the road with his father. He does not see there is much of a point to life if he is not helping other people. The boy wants to be sure he and his father help people and continue to carry the fire. The boy is the man’s strength and therefore courage, but the man does not know how the boy worries about him how the boy’s will to live depends so much on his
The essays Arm Wrestling with my Father and Shooting Dad explore the interesting relationship between father and child through the narrator’s emotions. The narrator in Arm Wrestling with my Father finds enjoyment in physical activity, but as time continues the same activity that brought him enjoyment, led to frustration. The narrator in Shooting Dad encounters a similar situation, but as both narrator’s age, they develop an understanding towards their fathers. The authors in Arm Wrestling with my Father and Shooting Dad use progression of time and the emotions: enjoyment, frustration and acceptance in the narrators: Brad Manning and Sarah Vowell to explore the rocky relationship between father and child.
...his father had acted the way he did, which caused him to be committed. He was facing the same experiences and the same side-effects his father once felt. However, faced with this dilemma between acceptance and equal power, Baldwin looks to the only man he can trust to help him, his father. He trusts his father because he knows that his father went through the same dilemma he is going through, he has seen the same affects in his father’s rage and hate. However, his father already passed away, and what help that could have been gathered from his father is gone; Baldwin can only piece together his memories of his father’s character and life and compare it to his own to see how the two are really alike.
Before meeting Gwen, he didn’t have a sense of identity. He has asked his father numerous of times about where he was born but his father kept changing the name of the places. Bobby’s mother died when he was young and he didn’t have her around to ask her these questions. Bobby really didn’t know who he was all his life. Even when he was taking in to prison, “[he’s] been documented, but even they’d had to make it up, take your name as much on faith as you. You have no social security number or birth certificate, no passport. You’ve never held a job” (651). Bobby feels that he doesn’t exist in this world and there’s no track of him on where he was born. How can someone live half of his life not knowing his real name is? His identity was living with his father’s identity by telling Bobby what to do when it comes to committing crimes. He doesn’t know what other things he could have done because this is all he knew. Bobby didn’t choose this life even though he was grown enough to make his own decisions. He felt that this is where he belongs and nowhere
The study of Juvenile delinquency and the theories pertaining to it are vital for several reasons. In order to more effectively engage with youths and foster positive behavior and schemas, the individuals must first be understood. The study of theory provides a means of understanding adolescents and the factors that lead to or detract from delinquent behavior. In the case of juvenile delinquent, Jordan Brown, theory helps to provide insight into why an eleven-year-old boy murdered his stepmother.
story as the corruption of evil takes a prominent role in the story of the two children. The
While the Aeneid does outline the future of Rome, it also highlights the pains of war, and also exposes his audience to a culture of violence, which they may be unfamiliar with. The act of balancing one’s duty towards others and his or her personal desires was a conflict that many people struggled with. By presenting the struggle between balancing inner desires and and personal responsibilities, Virgil offers his audience a framework that enhances their overall understanding of the poem.
The love one has for their family causes one to do anything to keep them out of harm, including taking the role of mother/father. Henry Lawson creates an image in his readers’ mind of the protagonist and all that she does for her
...and how we perceive ideas about what writers are trying to get across. This story is a clear representation of family values and true inheritance.
The father’s character begins to develop with the boy’s memory of an outing to a nightclub to see the jazz legend, Thelonius Monk. This is the first sign of the father’s unreliability and how the boy’s first recollection of a visitation with him was a dissatisfaction to his mother. The second sign of the father’s lack of responsibility appears again when he wanted to keep taking the boy down the snowy slopes even though he was pushing the time constraints put on his visitation with his son. He knew he was supposed to have the boy back with his mother in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Instead, the father wanted to be adventurous with his son and keep taking him down the slopes for one last run. When that one last run turned into several more, the father realized he was now pushing the time limits of his visit. Even though he thought he was going to get him home, he was met with a highway patrol’s blockade of the now closed road that led home.
In addition, the overall theme of the poem highlighted morality, which was a definitive tenet of Greco Roman civilization. In many ways, Virgil wrote the poem as a means of lauding the moral virtues of Roman society and as a personal challenge to outdo Homer’s epic compositions, The Illiad and The Odyssey. Virgil was successful because he had incorporated many of the same tales shared in the works of Homer into one epic poem which presented a linear storyline in the books that detailed the life and times of Aeneas and the Trojans. That being said, Virgil did not stray far from the approach that many writers had used before him; his primary focus throughout the Aeneid was placed squarely upon the back of idealized Greek and Roman moral principles, which were the dedication to ones’ honor, family, and country. By no means is there anything wrong with this approach, but in many ways, the entire poem could be viewed as a “propaganda” piece; while it might have served to enlighten, educate, and create a cohesive and uplifting story for the Roman populace, the poem lacked depth and a more profound exploration of human intricacies. While Virgil’s epic poem has stood the test of time and remains one of the greatest pieces
"Two Kinds" is a powerful example of differing personalities causing struggles between parent and child. In every parent-child relationship, there are occurrences in which the parent places expectations on the child. Some children fall victim to a parent trying too hard or placing expectations too high, or, in the case of "Two Kinds," a parent trying to live her life through that of her child. However, the mother is also a victim in that she succumbs to her own foolish dream that "you could be anything you wanted to be in America." Knowing that her own time has passed, she wants her daughter to succeed by any means necessary, but she never stops to think of what her daughter might want. She strictly adheres to her plan, and her overbearing parenting only leaves the daughter with feelings of disapproval and questions of self-worth. The mother does not realize the controversy that she creates, and she cannot understand that her actions could be wrong. She also does not realize that she is hurting not only her daughter, but also the relationship that should bind the two of them ...
At first the relationship between a father and his son can be perceived as a simple companionship. However, this bond can potentially evolve into more of a dynamic fitting relationship. In The Road The Man and his son have to depend on one another because they each hold a piece of each other. The Man holds his sons sense of adulthood while the son posses his father’s innocence. This reliance between the father and son create a relationship where they need each other in order to stay alive. “The boy was all that stood between him and death.” (McCarthy 29) It is evident that without a reason to live, in this case his son, The Man has no motivation to continue living his life. It essentially proves how the boy needs his father to love and protect him, while the father needs the boy to fuel ...
Adam, a corporal officer, starts as man who works everyday to catch the ‘villains’ of society, but is not spending enough time with his family, especially his son. He favors his nine year old daughter over his fifteen year old son. Adam views his daughter as a sweet child, and his son as a stubborn teenager who is going through a rebellious stage. However, when his daughter is killed in an accident, his perspective of family changes. In his grief, he states that he wishes he had been a better father. His wife reminds him that he still is a father and he realizes that he still has a chance with his son, Dylan. After his Daughter’s death, he creates a resolution from scriptures that states how he will be a better father. Because of the resolution he creates, he opens up to and spends more time with his son. By th...