Character Analysis Of The Boy's 'Father'

Plot

FLASHBACK(S):

One flashback is “I (the boy) was drunk as a skunk when I heard the old pickup pull up and saw him jump up and head for me. […] He (the father) shoved me several times toward the front door. […] He handed it (the glass of salt water) to me and ordered me to drink. I drank. I vomited.” In brief, the boy gets drunk and his dad hurts him and forces him to throw up. This flashback gives some interesting backstory on the relationship between the father and son. They clearly do not have a harmonious relationship, as the father was not at all kind or supporting, quite the opposite actually.

FORESHADOWING(S):

“The wind coming off the sea cools the skin; it is soft and comforting. I could use a little comfort.” This is foreshadowing

Finally, the boy realizes he must make an effort to improve this: “I looked up at the sun shining down on us and it dawned on me that I knew how to be a son to my mother but I did not know how to be a son to my father.”

Characterization

PROTAGONIST:

The protagonist of ‘The Canoe’ is a boy whose name is never revealed. We do not know what he looks like. There are not many personality traits shown, as the main focus of the story is his relationship with his father. We know that he loved his late mother deeply “Her absence is huge”.

ANTAGONIST:

The antagonist of this tale is the father. He and the boy do not live together in understanding. The boy has the following opinion: “My dad has always been a crusty man with a short fuse.”

FLAT OR ROUND:

The boy is a round character, in other words, he has many layers. He is a very realistic and human character due to his emotions (“I’m trying not to be too mad about the false alarm and I fight the embarrassment of over-reacting to his cussing.”) his hesitance (“Every morning I get up and promise myself: today I am going to look him straight in the eye and say something. But what, I can’t figure out yet” and “I can’t stop thinking how truly dumb this is, dangerous even, but at the same time there is a butterfly of joy bubbling around in my belly...”), and his grief (“I miss her smile when I caught her studying

In spite of this unhappy beginning, the author becomes hopeful. I believe the author first wants us to be down, then feel content at the end. The author has no apparent opinion of her characters. I also presume the author is critical of drinking alcohol, as she showed the effects of doing so.

Symbol(s)

One symbol used in the story was the swan. “The swan lacked elegance and strength at first. In near full flight he weakened, then came crashing down toward the sea […] by some miracle he found the will and grace to flap his wings and raise his wings and raise himself up again.” This swan is a symbol of the relationship between him and his dad. Their relationship starts out very fragile and unstable. However, throughout the course of this story, it blossoms, with both father and son deciding to make an effort, just like the swan.

Another symbol is when the boy is “picking up the dirtiest bunch of garbage imaginable”. It is representative of the hangover he is suffering from, which is also foul.