The Fatherly Side of Johnny Nolan Johnny Nolan is the husband of Katie Rommely Nolan whose children are Francie and Neeley Nolan. In the following, it’s proven that he is not a very good father and why. Johnny Nolan is not the type of man that has what it takes to be a good father to his children. One reason why Johnny Nolan is not a good father is because of his addiction to drinking. He became a drunk when he knew Francie would be born.
From the perspective of Larry’s mother and the women on the street, Larry’s drunkenness is not a positive thing and much disappointment and blame for this is put on Larry’s father and irresponsibility. And then considering the situation from Larry’s father’s point of view, Larry’s drunkenness was a result of his own doing. Larry’s father did not find himself at fault because his son drank the beer and made a choice to get drunk. The father believed that he had a right to socialize, free from the worries of his
Junior's father “drinks his pain away” (107). Junior concludes, the Indians drink to feel better, but on the contrary, they sink deeper and deeper into sadness, “all Indian families are unhappy for the same reason: the fricking booze” (200). As we have seen in this novel, alcohol encourages aggression and violence in the family. There are numerous examples of violence related to Junior's best friend, Rowdy, whose father is an alcoholic. Often Rowdy appears with
Because of his position rather than his brother’s, he experiences jealousy and is a victim of favoritism. His brother is a veteran, and to his father this means a lot. This meant that Frank could get away with everything while Wes was scolded. Wes reveals this jealousy when he says, “I wonder if he was supposed to stay at the hospital.”(p.36) When Wes
The reason to Conrad’s suicide attempt is his mom's acute coldness towards him shows her ultimate despise of Conrad because she blames him for not dying instead of her favorite first born son. After his suicide, Conrad is asked to see a psychiatrist by his father. Cal tries to bring the family back together, Beth, Conrad and himself, but fails to do so. Beth never once visited Conrad in the hospital and barely checks up on him to see if he was asleep. She began to shut herself from her husband and most importantly, her son.
Although matt has a lot of forces against him, All that Matt wants is a happy life. One of the forces that push him through the story is his wife. He says in the story, “She can’t even go out for cigarettes and aspirin. It’s killing her”. (104) This shows that Strout is making her distraught.
Look like all they want to do is knock you down.” Enoch tells Haze about his abusive father and this mean lady he lived with before he came there. It really makes me wonder if Enoch ever had anybody to talk to and that is why he is so strong on Haze; because Haze is listening. Enoch tells Haze that he has “wise blood”. “When he realized that today was the day he decided not to get up. He didn’t want to justify his daddy’s blood, he didn’t want to be always having to do something that something else wanted him to do, that he didn’t know what it was and that was always dangerous”(135).
Because they were both blood brothers, they decided that was good enough, and ended up living together with Derek’s mother and sister. At the start it was very hard for Derek and Morso. Derek’s mother did not readily accept morso into her home, nor did she treat him as an equal. She essentially neglect Morso and made it so much harder for him to settle in. She was very rude to him and would not even speak to him.
“We learn of another pair of brothers” (Goldman pg232) the uncle being like Sonny and their father being like Sonny’s bother the narrator. This is important because it reflects that people are different and do not react the same way to life even when brought up the same way. Sonny’s uncle much like Sonny clung to music and culture. The narrator may be linking their uncle’s accidental death to his life style when it could not be related in any way. While living with Sonny’s brother’s family Sonny’s brother doesn’t understand Sonny’s drug use or his musical escapes while playing nightclubs friends homes or within the walls of his home.
Sonny's brother wouldn't listen or understand to what Sonny wanted.Later in the story they have a better relationship and Sonny's brother realizes that music helped Sonny through all of his suffering and it also helped them both as brothers to finally bring them closer together. Suffering is another important them throughout Sonny's blues.Sonny suffered with an addiction to drugs, Sonny's brother suffered when his daughter died with Polio and their father suffered when he watched his brother died and didn't do anything.They all handled their suffering in a different way whether it was with music or the way they would present themselves.Baldwin uses darkness and light as the darkness is Sonny suffering to his addiction and light as his brother being the educated one that lived life as what he thought was the right way to live it. Sonny's blues by James Baldwin has several themes.The theme of music and the theme of suffering were very important in this story because they all suffered in life and with their relationships.Music helped Sonny with his addiction and it also helped the brothers with their