Along came a frontage road was a story that told different relationships between three different fathers and their sons. The first father that Michael Chabon introduced to the story was Nicky’s grandfather. The portrayal of his Nicky’s grandfather painted him as a lukewarm person who seemed to bond with his son only when they shopped for pumpkins. I came to this conclusion because it seems like Nicky’s father is following in his father’s footsteps by annually taking his son pumpkin hunting.
Michael Chabon gave the description that Nicky’s grandfather wasn’t such a loving person. He states that when he would cut the pumpkin up that he was very efficient and didn’t at all like to get his hands dirty. I took this as maybe he wasn’t very playful with his son and didn’t do a lot of fun activities with him. This is why Nicky’s father relives this memory, because it may have been one of the few that he actually enjoyed.
The next father that Michael Chabon introduces is Nicky’s father. Nicky’s father shows affectionate towards his son, but he also possesses the ability to be stern. During the story you find out that he and his wife lost their little girl at the age of 17 weeks. Through the mourning of the death and trying to move on from the situation, Nicky’s mother suggests that Nicky and his father go pumpkin hunting for Halloween.
Nicky’s father took his son out with the intention of having him look for a pumpkin and bringing it back home. Not at all did he suspect to encounter anything more but indeed he did. Nicky and his father went looking for a pumpkin at as place that he describes as “a piece of land so devoid of life and interest that from January to October, I’m certain, no one sees it at all”.
As he slouches in bed, a description of the bare trees and an old woman gathering coal are given to convey to the reader an idea of the times and the author's situation. "All groves are bare," and "unmarried women (are) sorting slate from arthracite." This image operates to tell the reader that it is a time of poverty, or a "yellow-bearded winter of depression." No one in the town has much to live for during this time. "Cold trees" along with deadness, through the image of "graves," help illustrate the author's impression of winter. Wright seems to be hibernating from this hard time of winter, "dreaming of green butterflies searching for diamonds in coal seams." This conveys a more colorful and happy image showing what he wishes was happening; however he knows that diamonds are not in coal seams and is brought back to the reality of winter. He talks of "hills of fresh graves" while dreaming, relating back to the reality of what is "beyond the streaked trees of (his) window," a dreary, povern-strucken, and cold winter.
From the time they first meet in a softball game to the moment they bid their final farewells, Danny and Reuven develop tremendously. Their fathers play a crucial role in this development. Still, no matter how David Malter and Reb Saunders raise them, their sons will always accept and forever cherish the precious gifts of love, guidance, and care that are continually given to them.
Everything has died, and all that remains is brutality and savagery. People, once neighbors and friends, now turning on each other in the name of survival. It is disturbing and horrific most of the time. Despite this, there is a light in the dark. Two survivors wandering the road, a father and a son. They are some of the last “good guys” on the planet. They are able to survive, despite the horrendous conditions presented to them. They are constantly running from terror, with little safety to hide. They, however, make their own safety. Cormac McCarthy is able to masterfully use things that most writers try their best to avoid. McCarthy writes without using names. This creates a sense of safety between father and son, as they do not need each other 's names. It is just them. McCarthy writes using incorrect grammar. This shows the father and son are alike real people. They are not perfect, cookie cutter characters. They could be anyone the reader knows. They both love each other and feel safe enough with one another. McCarthy writes using short, to the point sentences. This conveys that the son is smart enough to understand what is happening without long descriptions. Despite this knowledge, the father is constantly calming down the kid, furthering their love for one another. McCarthy is a master of writing, and The Road is sure to go down in history as a magnificent piece of
The crisp New Hampshire air chilled the private school students with its sickly cold fingers as it would rage by with a fury that would disappear as soon as it came. The grey skies which hovered above stole away the sun so that the warring world around them seemed all the more dismal and depressing. Despite the hanging feeling of dread the weather and World War seemed to influence, the boys themselves were almost giddy with the merry thoughts that plagued their juvenile minds. It was almost the end of the day which would give way to a freezing night where most people would prefer to sleep or stay indoors; however, that was not the case with these merry men of the winter session as they hastily prepared the scenery around them with the promise of prizes, the guarantee of games, and the silhouettes of snow statues.
Three little boys watch wearily and fearfully as their sister shimmies quickly up a tree to peer through the window of a dilapidated Southern farmhouse. Our attention focuses neither on her reaction to the festivities commencing in the house, nor on the danger suspended nervously in the dusky air as the tiny image worms up the tree trunk. Sensing the distress apparent in the boys’ words and actions, our eyes rivet to the same thing that fills their faces with apprehension—the dark and muddied stain of filth firmly planted on the bottom of the little girl’s underpants.
“One constant in a world of variables”- Bruce Dawe has described the man's characteristics and his actions from the first line of the poem, implying that this man is an unchanging character in a world where everything is evolving around him. The pumpkin is almost alive; it is ‘clumsy’ and it ‘sprawls’ like the progress of human civilisation, slowly expanding clumsily. The quote “Clumsy whips” also suggest that the growth of civilisations may be slow, but will improve as if driven by a whip in comparison to the
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is a novel set in a post-apocalyptic world where the weak die and the strong survive. The novel really focuses on the challenges that this world presents and the motivation one would need to overcome them. The difference in living and dying could be whether or not one has something to believe in and to motivate them with. The Road also contains a very strict code by which the main characters, the man and the boy, live by and judge themselves by. Throughout the novel, the man’s and boy’s belief in God and their good moral values motivates them to continue surviving.
The father’s upbringing was such that financial stability was the priority. The child learned that dads are busy and do not have time to spend with their children. What a devastating realization for a child to conclude. Yet like most little boys, this one wanted to grow up to be like his role model, no matter the example. During the time from childhood to adolescent, parental influence can be either beneficial or detrimental. If the parents have a stable home, clear boundaries and open communications with their teens, the transition could flow easier. The perfect father does not guarantee the child will not rebel.
It was hard for me to figure out what the theme is for the short story “Pumpkin Head” written by Joyce Carol Oats. For the most part, I found myself wondering what was going to happen the whole time I was reading, which leaves me to think that one of the themes of this short story could be wonder or questioning. There was a lot of wonder, about Anton Kruppev since, as a reader, and even for Hadley, we were continuously trying to figure out what this mans intentions are. There was also some wonder about Hadley. For example, what exactly happened to Hadley’s husband, what does Hadley do? In a way, as the reader I was sort of wondering what her intents were as well, although, my wonder was mainly on Anton Kruppev. What goes along
In “Where is Here” by Joyce Oats, Landon starts to remember little pieces of his childhood during the times in the kitchen with his family. Landon spent the majority of his childhood in that home with his younger sister, and would do anything to go back to visit the home he grew up in at some point in time. The two story house was painted bright yellow. There was always dead flowers laying across the lawn, he never understood why and never really asked his parents about it. Out of seven rooms in the house surprisingly the kitchen was Landon’s least favorite, the cabinets were all painted white with a black trim. There was a chandelier right above the kitchen table, it was the only light there in the kitchen. The kitchen was a very sad place
Cognitive development is where children start to become aware of their surroundings and become familiar with different things. Cognitive development plays enormous roles in a child’s growth into adulthood. In the story, Crews mentions that his first memory was around ten years before he was born, and the memory takes place where he has never been and involves his daddy who he never knew. One of the most important stages of cognitive development is sensorimotor stage. During the sensorimotor stage, children are only aware of the things they see, do, and the physical interactions with their immediate surroundings. Also, according the “The Role of the Father in Child Development”, it suggests the father-child separation period starts at the early age of nine months. Although the narrator was only 18 months old when his father died; he was still unable to make that immediate connection that a child needs from his father. Crews started a quest to find his father’s love; however, he never got a chance to complete. According to “The Role of the Father in Child Development”, the presence of a male model other than a father (e.g. an older brother) may inhibit the negative effects of a father’s absence Biller (1968, 1971a) argues that the father is a superior role model. All fathers are held to a superior role in every child’s life. Fathers are often the superhero that a little boy would like to be. The author always yearned for that superior male figure in his life. Crews’ father lived a life which consisted of drinking, fighting, working long hours, and influencing others to live the same lifestyle. The writer began to question the choices that his father made after he was convicted of his transgressions. Because of the actions of his father, Crews questioned what an ideal father should be and how it impacted his life in a negative
His father dated, but did not become serious with anyone until a few years after the divorce. On the other hand, his mother soon after the divorce obtained a serious boyfriend and once a few months had passed, they moved in with her boyfriend and the boyfriend’s son. After six months of living with them Cooper’s mother married her boyfriend. As a result, his outlook on his mother soured because he felt as though he were being taken away from his father to stay with someone he did not even care for. Then within the next few years his father also became married. There for, Cooper only began to see him
“Beauty and seduction, I believe, is nature's tool for survival, because we will protect what we fall in love with.” - Louie Schwartzberg. In the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, love between a father and son plays a key role in their survival. The father does everything in his power to make sure the son is safe and healthy, even if it means risking his own safety. This idea is greatly exemplified throughout the entire book, when the boy and father enter abandon homes in search of resources. Food and shelter quickly become the most important resources for the father and son, which encourages them to continue searching through abandoned buildings.. Each house represents something different in the story, and plays a key role in how the boy and father survive on their journey on the road.
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 ...
Peter Rabbit and his sisters were forbidden by their mother to enter Mr. McGregor’s garden because it was in this garden that their father had met his end and had become an ingredient of McGregor’s pie. The element of fear had been instilled in th...