A Fathers Impact

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A Fathers Impact “It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father” (John XXIII). The stories “Powder” and “Reunion” have many similarities and differences. The short story “Powder,” by Tobias Wolff is about a father who got to spend quality time skiing with his son after he fought for the privilege to see him. Though he had a limited amount of time to spend with his son, for they had to be back at his wife’s house for Christmas Eve dinner, he learned to savor every minute he got with his son. “Reunion” by John Cheever is a short story about Charlie who hasn’t seen his father since his parents’ divorce. So on his way back to his mother’s house he schedules a lunch with his father. Yet Charlie’s view on his father changes when his father continually has problems controlling his bad attitude. In “Powder and “Reunion” the authors use father/son relationships, point of view and conflict to portray to the reader that almost all father and son relationships have their flaws. In the two short stories it seems as if the sons’ relationships with their father were quite different, but they also had their similarities because both of them cared for their son. In the story “Powder” the father took good care of his son for he continually tried to give his son what he thought was best. He fought for the privilege to see his son after he already snuck him into a jazz club to see Thelonious Monk (Wolff 1). He was a good dad, for as his son says “He wouldn’t give up. He promised, hand on heart, to take good care of me and have me home for dinner on Christmas Eve” (Wolff 1). He was very attentive and tried his best to make things work. Unlike the type of father that is characterized in “Powder” the father in “Reunion” seems to be less attentive to his son. For Charlie’s father appears to be trying to pick fights with waiters saying things like
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