Father and Son Relationships in Bernard McLaverty’s ‘Father and Son’ and ‘Trojan Sofa’

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Bernard McLaverty’s ‘Father and Son’ and ‘Trojan Sofa’ both explore the relationships between parent and child. The interaction between parent and child in these texts contrast greatly, leaving the reader to consider the complexities of family relationships. ‘Father and Son’ outlines a tragic story in which the father tries to help his son with his drug habit, but is unsuccessful and subsequently the son dies in his arms, whereas in ‘Trojan Sofa’ the father uses his son to do work for him, within a life of crime, and in turn, both of these situations are intensely difficult, but greatly different.

Both of these texts deal with problems, but in different ways, which McLaverty expertly portrays by hinting to us throughout what the problem could be, specifically in ‘Father and Son’ “I do not sleep. My father does not sleep” suggests to us as readers immediately that there is a problem, but that the father and son are closer than they actually think, as this quote is almost mirror imaged, reflecting their similarities. The father is trying to help his son, trying to be his best as a par...

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