Jim Simmerman, the writer of “Child’s Grave, Hale County, Alabama,” was born on March 5, 1952 in Bolder, Colorado. Simmerman spent the most of his childhood traveling since his father was in the military. In 1978, he became an instructor at Northern Arizona University. He then left to earn a master’s degree at the University of Iowa, but he came back to continue his previous job. On June 29, 2009, Simmerman killed himself because of a debilitating illness he had (Bruner para.
Judy Fong-Bates short story “The Gold Mountain Coat” and Susan Young’s poem “Wordsmith” portray a strained relationship between a father and his children. Both the fathers are distant from their children but while the father in “Wordsmith” makes sincere efforts to bond with his daughter, Sam sing from “The Gold Mountain coat” chooses to remain strict and unapproachable towards his two sons. From the beginning of both the pieces of literature, the main difference of love and approachability is evident. Sam Sing fails to show any emotion towards his sons even though they work hard for him in the chinese restaurant. They are scared to ask him for the money to buy a coat despite being two adult men as they have been conditioned from the beginning
In the essay “Angry Fathers” by Mel Lazarus, the author talks about a part of his life, a day with his friends. Artie, Eli, and him were bored and decided to do something they haven’t done, something new, leave their mark on the wall of the new casino. Mr. Biolos the owner appeared furious, he would tell their fathers; Artie’s father arrived first, when he found out he took off his belt and whipped Artie. Eli’s father showed up next, he knocked Eli off his feet with a slam to the head, he kicked him on the legs, buttocks and back. By this time the author was nervous of his father reaction, when he arrived his reaction was a surprise for the author; instead of corporal punishment, his father punishment was a lesson.
Throughout the history of American Literature, there have been hundreds of influential pieces which have left a mark on other writers. The book “In Honor of David Anderson Brooks, My Father” by Gwendolyn Brooks utilizes a unique writing style, theme and American values. This text was sharing her father’s story and personality to the reader before he passed away. He presumably lived alone and maintained his own home.
In the first stanza, the speaker reflects bitingly on his father’s commitment to his joyless job in an “automotive warehouse”. The narrator attitude to his father's commitment is obvious primarily in the imagery he chooses to express his distaste at his father’s choice to work for a paycheque, rather than for his own fulfillment. “A pay cheque over his mouth” suggests that his father hates his job but does not complain about, perhaps because the money to support his family is more important than his own happiness. However, the son does not respect this choice or his father’s commitment to support his family. Rather, he sees this job as shackles, as slavery, the “clocks stretched around his legs” revealing his resentment at his father working to “get his time in”.
In Tobias Wolff's short story "Powder," the narrator's perspective is on the son, and we know everything about how he thinks and feels, yet we are trying to learn what the father is thinking by just his actions and words. As they leave the lodge, we know that they have to get home in time for dinner and how the father has messed up in the past. They reach the road seeing a barricade on it and an officer standing by it explaining what happened. "My father sat with both hands on the wheel, rubbing the wood with his thumbs. He looked at the barricade for a long time.
In the poem “forgiving my father”, Lucille Clifton writes of a young daughter reminiscing about her father’s recent death. The daughter talks about it being Friday, it being payday. She discusses her father and how he owed her and her dead mother money when really they just wanted him to be present. The daughter feels she has had no time with her father and she resents him for it. He was not present in her life and now he has passed away, leaving her with a yearning for something that she will never obtain.
The narrator states that his father woke up and got dressed “in the blueblack cold” in order to go to work where he developed “cracked hands that ached.” Hayden uses the words “cold,” “cracked,” and “ached” to describe the father’s working conditions; the hard Cs in these words make them sound harsh, and therefore imply that the father’s job is difficult. This enhances readers’ impressions that the father continues to work at his challenging and demanding job in order to provide for his family. Both Hayden and Roethke chose to describe the fathers’ hands to represent the children’s living situations. The father in “Those Winter Sundays” had “cracked hands that ached,” while the father in “My Papa’s Waltz” had “battered” hands.
The speaker talks about harvesting and cooking which are usually positive activities, but it creates an unhappy environment. All the speaker talks about are his father and his death, which the reader can conclude with evidence from the text. The speaker also uses a nostalgic tone to show the absence of his father in his life. The speaker cherished his memories with his father and regrets not doing more.
The book The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey tells a story about the 1980’s Olympic semi-finals between the U.S.A hockey team and the Russian hockey team. Since the 1960’s team Russia has dominated Olympic hockey. They set an example of how to play the game like, only taking wrist shots, because why risk breaking your stick or getting a splinter with a slap shot. The Russians had no doubt that they would win. But coach Brooks, the coach of the Americans had the game all planned out with trick plays and players playing different positions to mess with the Russians.
“Those Winter Sundays” has a sad dark tone. “Speaking indifferently to him” (Line 10). It is clear that there is little communication between the father and the son. The author remembers how his father woke up early to heat the house and worked hard to provide for the family. Although this poem is much sadder, it still shows love.
“Winter Dreams” was published in 1926. Francis Scott Fitzgerald is most well-known for his novel “The Great Gatsby”. A common theme he is known for is the American dream and how it is corrupt. Fitzgerald enjoys writing about the poor boy chasing after the rich girl. This story is about a man named Dexter Green trying to achieve the American dream by obtaining the girl he adores.
It is Luke’s fatherly love for his daughter that leads to his dilemma between pursuing the truth of doing what is just and right and demonstrating his love for his daughter. " A Father's Story," by Andre Dubus shares that the love of a father toward his own daughter means that he will protect her even if the process calls for him to misplace a part of himself. To protect his daughter, the father is forced to undergo challenges, a battle between his mind and his values. In the story, Luke Ripley, the protagonist, drops his core principles and ethical values deliberately to protect his daughter. I believe that the central conflict in "A Father's story" is a betrayal of a friend's trust and personal values and ethics for the sake of love, because
In the poem “Those Winter Sundays” the poem seems to take place around the year 1943. Judging from the illustration above the poem, it looks like the family is very poor and have very little space. The picture shows that the mother is serving food to the boy and girl, from that point of view it looks like they have to share which shows that they struggle to provide enough food for each individual. As opposed to the poem “Piano” there is no illustration but the speaker does say “hymns in the cozy parlor”. The speaker using the word parlor shows that the family must have lived in a well kept home.
Fatherless. Growing up as an African-American female, I have come to certain realizations that have made me more cautious of the people I chose to associate myself with on a day-to-day basis based on ignorance that society distributes for others’ use. For example, society portrays the black cultural without a father raised in a single-mother household in a low-income environment. By providing this image to the world, it allows them to interpret that image in any way they chose. In my case, my father was in my life for a short period of time which proved that stereotype right.
