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.
James Baldwin once said, “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” In any family, one can see how parental guidance makes or breaks a child’s future. The author of The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore, explores this idea by contrasting the outcomes of two men with the same name. As a decorated veteran, Rhodes scholar, and White House Fellow, the author hears of a man with his name wanted for murdering a police officer. Haunted by the coincidence, he reaches out to the “other” Wes Moore after he is imprisoned years later. From there, Wes Moore uncovers countless decisions, sacrifices, and mistakes that diverged the two men’s seemingly similar lives,
Two people with two completely different characteristics have something alike. Both Dally and Johnny are mentally tough because of their parents. Johnny and Dally’s parents both do not care for them and could care less about them. For example, during Dally’s childhood he went to jail, been in a gang, and has been in many fights and his dad still would not care for him even if he won the lottery. Dally also talks about his dad's disgrace towards him in the car with Johnny and Ponyboy, “‘ Shoot, my dad don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in a gutter...’”(88). Dally could easily live without his dad and he does for the most part. Dally just hangs around with his friends and stays at their place. Similarly, Johnny's parents use him like a rag doll to blow off steam, “his father always beating him up”(14). The gang knows what happenes in Johnny’s house. Once Ponyboy was witnessing, “Johnny take a whipping with a two-by-four from his old man”(33). Ponyboy talks about how loud and mean Johnny's mom is and,“you can...
Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...
John Singleton’s view of social problems in South Central Los Angeles happens in a tale of three friends growing up together. Doughboy and Ricky Baker are half-brothers and have opposite personalities. Ricky is a football player who hopes to win a scholarship and spends most of his time playing football. On the other hand, Doughboy is a young man who looks upon his environment for guidance. He is involved in violence, abusing drugs, and participates in violence. In between is their friend Tre, who actually has a father to teach him what is right from wrong. Furious Styles, who is Tre’s father in the film does everything in his strength to keep his son from becoming another startling statistic. As you can see, it is always important for parents to be a part of their child’s life because it can make a big difference not only in their life but also their child’s future.
He always wants to help someone else in need before himself, whereas the father is only concerned about their own personal wellbeings. He “is the one” who worries about their ethical choices and wants to help a stranger in any way he can (259). McCarthy proves the importance of the boy’s spirit of love for other people when his dad dies and he must take the leap of faith to continue along the road with a new family. Despite all the corrupted people they encountered beforehand, the boy meets someone who is “carrying the fire” (129). This mantra by the father and son, symbolizes hope and humanity. The qualities Steinbeck labels for a writer to create in his writings can be summed up in “carrying the fire” since the two never did give up. It is the greatness of the heart and spirit Steinbeck notes that is “inside [them]. [And] [i]t [is] always there” (279). It is noteworthy that even in the midst of death and ashes, the two are able to hold onto their relationship and sanity. The “good guys” can continue to carry meaning and structure in their lives, even in a time where society turned into a battle to survive on the remnants of
...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.
Caldwell, Tracy M. “The Negative Effects Of Parent And Child Conflict.” Literary Theme: The Negative Effects Of Parent & Child Conflict (2006): 1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
It is clear when reading the Aeneid that Virgil was familiar with the earlier works of Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Virgil, more than just being aware of these earlier works, uses themes and ideas from these poems in his own. Far more than just copying scenes and ideas, Virgil expands and alters these themes to better tell his story, unique from the Greek originals he is drawing from. Virgil reveals what qualities he regards as heroic through the juxtaposition of Aeneas’ character and the negative aspects of the underworld. By looking at which qualities are esteemed and derided respectively, we can identify the qualities that Virgil would like to emphasize positively to his readers. Also, we can argue that Virgil is indeed trying to convey a particular set or morals to those readers. Beyond the underworld, it is possible to clearly identify these traits in the other sections of the poem where Virgil is borrowing and making his own alterations. Using these distinctions we can very clearly derive Virgil's morality from the poem, and see where Virgil's ideal characters veer away from the Greek ideal that came before.
story as the corruption of evil takes a prominent role in the story of the two children. The
This passage defines the character of the narrators’ father as an intelligent man who wants a better life for his children, as well as establishes the narrators’ mothers’ stubbornness and strong opposition to change as key elements of the plot.
...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.
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
The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.
The third president of the United States said that “I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led.” In this class, we did just that. Find the truth. In this essay, I will discuss the flaws and the things we did correctly, the grades and the knowledge, and the play and the work. Since this class’s goal was to turn my views of Sports and Culture upside down. I will work from the bottom by discussing the juxtaposition between play and work first.
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...