Prodigal Son

When looked at more closely, the younger brother and older brother show an unexpected similarity in their sins throughout the parable of the prodigal son. Keller states in his book The Prodigal God that the goal of this book is to lay the essentials of the gospel, and to either introduce or reassure the message of both this story and the gospel. This parable is thought of as one of the best readings in the Bible to help someone grasp the understanding of God’s

The father does not comply with his son and leaves the naked man alone in the cold. This further shows the differences between the boy and his father. The final contrast between the two is exemplified with the ending. Throughout the book the reader is allowed to assume that if the son dies in the novel then the father would consequently commit suicide. At the end of the story when the father dies first the boy stays strong and decides to blindly follow other survivors and put his faith in them. Throughout, the story; however the father doesn't put any trust into anyone. His son, being a foil of him decides to put his faith into other survivors and takes a leap of faith and follow them their camp. This instance further shows the stark difference between the father and the son.

With today's morals and sense of responsibility, the elder son would be heralded as the "ideal son" -- someone who is frugal, reliable, and stable. The younger son, however, might be called the "black sheep" of the family -- tolerated because of bloodlines, easily dismissed, and held up as a bad example to the younger members of the family. The younger son would not be easily re-accepted by his family without first paying some kind of penance, regardless of his confessed remorse. In this parable, the prodigal son's self-decided punishment of apology and servitude to his father would not seem unreasonable. However, he is unconditionally accepted by his father, without punishment. His father is so overjoyed to have his son back that he throws a celebration in his son's honor, which offends his dependable older son's sense of right and wrong.

The relationship between the two fathers and the two sons is a very important theme in this book. Because of their different backgrounds, Reb Saunders and David Malters approached raising a child from two totally different perspectives.

Because the father was so involved with himself, he did not make the time or put the effort to develop a proper relationship with his son.

Several things that happen in this book are a result of what the father and son do in their relationships for

The sons character is a symbol of hope to the father throughout the novel. In the father’s perspective the son is almost described as holy, “if he is not the word of god. god never

The son however is the ‘faith’ within the story. He is the hope for a better future. The son is more trusting towards others and therefore becomes upset and quiet when his father doesn’t agree with him. “I’m afraid for that little boy” – The son has never seen another young boy and is frightened for him but his father shrugs off his pleas to help him and says “I know but he’ll be alright”. Towards the end of the book it appears that the father and his son become distant to each other due to their diverse personalities. It could however be seen that the son is a lot more knowledgeable about dangers and therefore does not need his father as much.

In the Bible, the parable of the Lost Son tells the story of how a father’s son “got together all he had, set off for a distant country and [squandered his wealth in wild living]. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. (New International Version Luke 15: 11-32) With nothing to eat, he had no choice but to return to his father in shame. The son was fearful his reputation with his father was ruined, and that he would be forced to work as a slave to his father. However, the father was cheerful he had returned and celebrated with a party. The son’s reputation was not ruined and was instead restored with his

They’re always about something bad happening” (McCarthy 269). So by this statement, we know that the boy while empathetic, still feels negative emotions for himself. We feel as if the boy is what keeps the book going, the fire; he is the only one who can and will keep the story going because he is seen as something greater than all. After the father dies, we see that the boy finds a group of wanderers and joins them.

his fathers custody, and in the beginning of the story, he did not want to help his father

It also shows a shift from the present situation to a future one then back to the present. In the beginning of the poem the son is currently waiting for his father to tell him a story and has a sense of eagerness to him while the father has a sense of tiredness to him. This scene is depicted as the father being “in a room full of books in a world of stories,” (6-7) yet the father has difficult trying to come up with a story to tell despite how many are around home. The room that they are in is described as having books of stories inside of it and outside of the room is the whole world that is full of stories to tell. At this point the problem is that the father cannot think of a story to tell his son who asked him to tell him a new story which, according to the father, seems to be the beginning of the end. The father believes that since he is not able to tell stories as quickly and easily as he could before then one day soon, “the boy will give up on his father,” (8-9). These thoughts help to prepare and give background to the glimpse into the future when the boy is getting ready to leave his father by packing his clothes and having his keys ready to go. Since the father saw the day he would lose his son to manhood, once the day actually came the father seemed very upset at the boy but not for leaving but more so for the reasons that he is. The father yells at the son, “Are you a god...that I sit mute before you? Am I a god that I should never disappoint,” (16-18). It seems that the father and son have had an argument or disagreement and the son did not want to deal with all the problems that had grown to be too much for him so he chooses to not say anything to his father at all as he is getting ready to leave. The father calls him out on this and claims that he is imperfect and will disappoint

betrayal, and violence. His father abandoned him seeking to find a life less confrontational to a

The father decides that they cannot wait for the two inhabitants of the town to come along, and, even if they did, there were not enough supplies to maintain them all. The fate of the two are left unknown, but we are led to believe the worst. A similar case occurs when they come across a large house. Inside the house, in the basement, a prison filled with beaten human livestock, including a man who has had his legs grafted to his pelvis. Instead of risking his and his son’s lives to save the masses of people, both travelers rush into the woods to escape the cannibals. At the end of the book, after the father’s death, the boy decides to forge southward, thus upholding his father’s dream. The son’s future and that of humanity is left unknown. The future and previous actions of these individuals are left for the reader to decide and to

When on the island, they thanked God for the provisions that existed on the island. God was the cornerstone of their lives. The father led them in prayer every morning before working, and every night before sleeping. Throughout their excursions the father taught the boys parables when applicable to circumstances such as the story of Cain and Able. While out in his ‘cajack’, a storm rolled in and the family did not know what became of Fritz.