Superficially, all seems well because his family lives a comfortable existence. Emotionally, however, his family has missed his emotional support for years. His wife, Helen, gave up “trying to compete with his work years ago.” All of his children grew up in a so-called normal family with a father and mother. At his funeral, though, they do not have enough memories about him to say a proper eulogy. Phil himself was “overweight” and unhealthy, obsessed with work and negligent with his personal life.
It deeply affected his family, and in the end, he wasted his life away. Johnny Nolan never had a steady job. He worked in the Union, which gave him nightly jobs. The jobs were never consistent, and the pay was not substantial. He always kept a certain amount of money to himself to give to McGarrity for drinks.
I tell them that in another month I'll be back in school and working at a better-paying, less humiliating job.”(27) Even Franklin's dad adds to this pressure when he finds out about his son's job as he can hardly understand why his son would take such a lowly job, “'Wendy's? When did this happen?' I want to tell him that it didn't just happen, that it wasn't an accident, but I am stuck wondering how to make him understand...”(29) Like everyone else, Franklin's dad is at a loss for words at his son's
A large portion of Holden’s depression comes from failing multiple times. He has flunked almost every class he has taken except English. When he fails, his classes, he does not care about it and goes on with his life. Holden is kicked out of Pence Prep because of his low grades and his inability to take school seriously. This quote shows that he does not care about his future in education.
A person like Chris McCandless who has everything in the world is still unsatisfied on what is around him. He has family, money and a great education that will soon be his great future but he thinks that everything related to wealth is sinful. Chris made a journey to search for the true meaning of life and escaped it pressures. He also tried to travel by using his instincts in life by living naturally without other's aide. Whereas he helped people suffering of hunger by donating all of his college money, he forgot to help himself.
Frank never had any of this, though. His father spent all the money he earned on alcohol. For this reason Frank compares his father to these “fathers from heaven” by saying “where all the fathers bring home the money from the Labor Exchange and you don’t have to be running around pubs to find them” (McCourt 90). This shows that he used to worry about how much money the family had and if his father used to spend it on alcohol. It also shows how much he wanted a “father form heaven”: someone he could rely on to earn for his family and support him.
Instead of teaching full time at the school he just taught par time and worked part time at the bar. Once he got laid off from the school his wife left him and left him a note saying “ you are a failure, you will never make any money, and you will never go anywhere in life”. That note was his inspiration throughout the film and every time he would get his ass kicked, have a rough game, or felt like he couldn't do something he looked to the note and always rose up stronger. The biggest difference for me from the book to the movie was that in the book his dad taught him everything he knew and helped him in the NFL, and in the movie his dad did not help him at all and even told Vince that he didn't think is was a good idea to go to the teams tryouts. The only person who really taught him something in the movie was his teammate who played the center position.
His family abandoned, his son not even knowing what he was like had to ask his neighbors. A comment was made to his wife about missing him and she replied, “I already have. Missing him all these years.” (Goodman 398) It is important for a man to have balance in his life. Men can get so engulfed into their work that they forget to enjoy their life and before they know it, it’s over. Phil had a heart attack because he was so stressed out from work, and he didn’t have a life outside of work so he was always stressed out.
That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him… Feels like I’m still deep shit.”(Page 150) Bowker is also intelligent and is well supported by his parents, but he did not see any meaning in getting a job or even going to school. He does not have the words to explain what he went through or how he feels and he tries to hide it. Norman really wants his story told, so he sent a letter to Tim O’ Brien and ask Tim to write itfor him. He believes that Tim can express how he feels or get the right words out, but the story did not satisfy Norman and he commits suicide 8 months later in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown. Norman’s role in this book is to help Tim to go from being a storyteller, or writer, to being a soldier.
When I was in the high school, my father and I did not get along with each other. What my father told me did not make sense to me, and what I say did not seem to make sense to my father. I thought his ideas were too obsolete. The time has changed; what was true when my father was young is no longer true. However, as I attend college and live by myself, I realized he was right to some extent, and his words came out because he also cared about my future as much as I do.