Arm Wrestling With My Father Summary

751 Words4 Pages

The love this father has for his son is uniquely and unequivocally expressed, as one will discover in this compassionate and heartwarming short essay Arm Wrestling with My Father written by Brad Manner. Brad Manner wrote this essay for his freshmen composition course sharing his unique relationship with his father as the two bonded through ritualistic father-son competitive arm wrestling matches. However, as the story progresses into Manner 's college years, the symbolic power and strength of his father the "arm", the mere representation of his father 's strength and love, begins to fade as his father 's unwavering strength weakens with the inevitable and unforgiving progression of ageing. Manner, realizes that he no longer desires to compete against his father, the man who he has idolized and admired his whole life. Although his father is unable to express his …show more content…

Unable to use spoken words to express his feelings towards his son, Manner said, "We never communicated as well in speech or in writing, as in a strong hug, battling to make the other gasp for breath." (Manner 167). Like most boys, Manner admired his father, perhaps idolizing him. While attending his senior year in high school, Manner 's father was voted "best built body" (169). Furthermore, during his collage years, his father labored as a member of a road crew and worked on a Louisiana dredge. Both jobs were reflective of his father’s great strength, deepening the admiration he had for his father. Although Manner had great admiration for his father, he equally experienced disappointment from his lack of engagement in his son 's education and musical concerts. However, when it came to a competitive sport his father was present and ready to provide directions for improvement after a game. Remarkably, Manner understood this as his father’s way to communicate with him, and in his own way, expressing his