Relationship Between Father And Child

Father and son relationships are much more complex when observed from a deeper surface. In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, two different outlooks on fatherhood can be seen. In some cases, the role of a father-like figure can be unfulfilled, which leaves the child feeling isolated. While on the other hand, there are situations where the father can be seen as being a guide and mentor for the child. McCarthy shows how in a dystopian society; a father provides his son with unconditional love and care. Whereas, Shelley’s work portrays abandonment and lack of care provided by Victor for the creature. Through these two texts the father and son relationship is shown to play a prominent role in them, but two different

Brad Manning’s “Arm Wrestling with My Father” he indicates that the physical contact between himself and his father is a representation of their relationship. When Manning is a boy his father, and he participates in arm wrestling regularly. Of course, Manning being a child loses but all he does is giggle. Manning’s relationship with his father as a boy is playful and fun. In his teenage years, he did not laugh around his father anymore. His relationship with his father is never emotional, like a bond a mother and a son has. The relationship is strictly physical. Mannings father helps him with lacrosse but never goes to any of his orchestra concerts or helps him with homework: “But at those times I could just feel how hard he was trying to

Arm Wrestling with My Father Change is inevitable, and often leads to emotional repercussions. Brad Manning expresses this idea in his coming-to-age essay “Arm Wrestling with My Father,” in which he traces the evolution of his relationship with his father. Using rhetorical devices such as repetition, selection of detail and analogy, Manning further proves his ambivalence towards his and his father’s impending roles reversals. Manning begins the essay by describing a regular arm wrestling match with his father, and uses repetition while describing the match “…is what he always said…he would always control the outcome… Dad would always win; I always had to lose” (156).

In these two stories, both authors depict the condition of his/her parent/child relationship in spatial terms and their perception of gradual changes by expressing the hardship of understanding affection from each of their father during their childhood. Although these two are connected, each author has different conditions in terms of relationship with their own father and ways of describing to depict their stories. After analyzing each story, I believe that Brad Manning’s “Arm Wrestling with My Father” wins over Sarah Vowell’s “Shooting Dad” in terms of sharing with the readers about his relationship with his father more vividly.

Sarah Vowell’s “Shooting Dad” discusses the relationship between a daughter and father. Engaged in a lifelong opposition to her father’s politics, interests, and his work, Vowell discovers just how much she actually has in common with him. Throughout her adolescent years, she was her father’s polar opposite. Her room was littered with musical instruments, albums, and Democratic campaign posters while her father’s, an avid gunsmith, was strewn with metal shavings and Republican party posters. Amongst all this conflict, Vowell found that they had more in common with each other than either of them realized. As she looks back on her childhood, Vowell explains that although it may take a while to see and understand others’ perspectives, once you

The short stories “Scars” by Don Aker and “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer are both talking about the relationships between fathers and their child. The relationships between fathers and their child change almost opposite at the end of the story because the main characters learn from their experiences. Daniel, the protagonist of “Scars”, was having a weak relationship with his father, however, an accident made Daniel realizes something about his father which made their relationship stronger. Ashleigh, the main character of “Ashes”, loved her father however, a request that Ashes’ father made led Ashes feel disappointed about her father. Both Daniel and Ashleigh learn the same amount because they learn the lessons that can affect their life.

Although single parenthood is on the rise in homes today, children still often have a father role in their life. It does not matter who the part is filled by: a father, uncle, older brother, grandfather, etc...; in almost all cases, those relationships between the father (figure) and child have lasting impacts on the youth the rest of their lives. In “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” Jimmy Carter tells the audience no matter the situation with a father, hold onto every moment.

In their recent work, Brad Manning and Sarah Vowell have written about more than one way to have a close, but different relationship with their fathers. There is has always been a belief that to get along with someone you would have normal conversations, enjoy each other’s company, or share a common interest. In the story they love their father as any other child would, but their ways of communication are not the same and are different from a common father-child relationship. Both authors use rhetorical devices as a framework for differentiating their relationships with their fathers by characterizing them.

An ideal father should be someone who nurtures and lovingly cares for his offspring, and some kids are blessed by this opportunity growing up to spend time with their father, even if their parents are divorced. As the years go by our fathers grow older and we too grow old. We start to reminisce about the nostalgic times we had when we were young. In the poems “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, and “Tips From My Father” by Carol Ann Davis; the authors draw from different life events, in which each communicate a happy memory with their fathers to the audience, and conclude a common theme surrounding a bond with their fathers, which can be inferred through how the parents care about their kids and show affection to them by giving their

Adam Driver once said, “It's hard to kill that father- son bond”. The relationship between a father and his son is unique with every pair. While some bonds are tighter than others, the connection is always special. Though, like everything, its strength can be put to the test. In Night, Life is Beautiful, and “Those Winter Sundays”, The father-son relationship is faced with many challenges but proves that this bond is everlasting.

Both “Arm Wrestling with My Father” and “Shooting Dad” written by Brad Manning and Sarah Vowell, respectively, portrays a damaged and rough relationship that a son and/or daughter holds with his father. Although they both find themselves struggling, they are dealing with different things, Manning is dealing with a physical bounding, while Vowell finds herself handling a more emotional and communicative type of bonding. Eventually, both characters find themselves in a mature relationship over time. The characters had similarities and also differences with their respective father. Throughout the stories, both authors dig into the relationship between child and father and how it can be shaped and changed over time.

The narrator and his father have the kind of relationship where on the surface it might come off as cold because they’re reserved and don’t openly share thoughts and emotions but, underneath it all, the narrator must feel some respect for his father because he still contemplates over the advice his father gave him.

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.

A father and son relationship is very important. It is the foundation for boys to become men. The article, “Why the Father Wound Matter: Consequences for Male Mental Health and the Father-Son Relationship”, by Eric D. Miller explains the concept of a father wound that can manifest in males due to a father neglecting or abusing them. Miller stresses that by becoming fathers’, men can overcome father wounds. He touches upon the idea of masculinity, and how it can be a factor to why there is sometimes a distant relationship between a father and a son. The “A Father’s Call: Father-Son Relationship Survival of Critical Life Transitions”, by Ivory Achebe Toldson and Ivory Lee Toldson explains the relationship between a father and a son from adolescent into adulthood. Lee who was the father describes his struggles through a divorce and how he stayed connected to his son no matter what occurred. Lee’s son Achehbe is also featured in the article and expresses the rough childhood he went through without his father being directly in his life. Together these two articles show that a father is essential to the raising of a boy because without one many form father wounds along with emotional problems.

Although everyone has a father, the relationship that each person has with his or her father is different. Some are close to their fathers, while some are distant; some children adore their fathers, while other children despise them. For example, in Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” Hayden writes about his regret that he did not show his love for his hardworking father sooner. In Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy,” she writes about her hatred for her brute father. Despite both authors writing on the same topic, the two pieces are remarkably different. Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” have different themes that are assembled when the authors put their different uses of imagery, tone, and characterization together.