The Great Santini

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Recommended: parenting styles and its effect on children

Bull Meechum may be called "The Great Santini" in battle and when flying his jet, but he is, as Maryanne said, more like "Godzilla" to his family. Not knowing how to be a father, Bull treats his children and his wife just as he would treat his crew. Taking things to extremes, when Bull says something, he expects it to be done. Additionally, he is still a child himself and cannot stand to lose. Competitive to an extreme, anything that is better than him or anything that represents him and is beaten is unacceptable. His first son Ben, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He is gentle and just allows his father to dominate. However, after being trained his entire life to be just like his father, he desires nothing more than for Bull's approval and takes on a few characteristics of his dad. Unfortunately, there is no way that two Bulls can live under one house (already emotionally stretched as it is) and conflict erupts.

Bull is the epitome of an emotional straightjacket, the Boy Code, and "the mask." He is unable to express his true feelings and holds a portrayal of "toughness" to the outside world, even when he suffers silently on the inside, especially after the conflict where his entire family started beating him. He does not want any of his children to be soft and claims that Meechums "chew nails" while other kids chew cotton candy. He expects his children to be the best at sports, academics, and everything else. He is not available to be talked to, uses nothing but harsh language (such as calling his children "hogs" and "sports fans"), is not involved with his entire family, does not have the time to spend with them, and shares no personal stories. To his daughters, he hardly talks to them and merely calls in Lillian to deal with them, giving them a bad sense of their bodies and themselves. Bull is what every father should strive NOT to be like.

Of all of his children, Bull's eldest son Ben is treated the harshest. He is expected to be the greatest at basketball, yet should he become better than his father, there is trouble. Bull believes that Ben is "babied" too much and he desires him to have the Great Santini's "gift of fury.

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