What Is The Conflict In Arm Wrestling With My Father

We all tend to have issues with our dads, but we are sometimes ignorant of the benefits of being with dad. Two authors discuss their relationships in each of their respective essays: Brad Manning with “Arm Wrestling with My Father” and Sarah Vowell with “Shooting Dad.” I will be comparing/contrasting he essays on: the conflict each author had with their dad, the feelings that encompassed from it, and the outcome of their relationships. To begin, Manning talks about his frustrations with his dad. He would always beat Manning in arm wrestling, and would take every opportunity to fix Manning’s physical skills. Due to this, Manning saw his dad as a powerful who could not be stopped. However, he was unsure if his dad had love for him at the same time. He states this in essay; “But at those times I could just feel how hard he was trying to communicate, to help me, to show the love he had for me, the love that I could only assume was there.” (146) Manning is having conflicting feelings about his dad; this brings up feelings of annoyance, resentment, and frustration.

However, this conflict derives from different opinions she has with him. As she states in her essay; “About the only thing my father and I agree on is the Constitution…” (154). that is the only topic they can agree on, so they disagree on everything else. This leads to a lot arguments and debates with her dad; it is like they are rivals trying to prove who is right and wrong. This differs from Manning’s issue of trying to understand his dad. Vowell’s side has her at never-ending odds against her dad; while Manning is going through frustrations in understanding his dad. Although the conflicts are different, both authors present a realization about their dads towards the end of their